Hiatus
by AllysonH
Summary: So what happens in the hiatus, right after the season six finale airs? This story follows them every day, starting from that last scene. Things are going to change for Booth and Brennan, but how will they handle it? This story will be updated often!
1. Week 8, day 1

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AH's note: So, this will be my 'Hiatus Baby'. I'm going to update this one daily, as much as I can with a full-time job (+ extra hours, yay for nursing). Chapters will vary in length. It will follow B&B every day as the pregnancy progresses. Beware of all the trials and tribulations and all the good in between!_

**Week 8, day 1**

Moments had passed between them, in which they were just smiling at each other and neither of them said anything. Cars went by behind Brennan's back and the sounds of people talking as they walked through the streets of downtown Washington were drowned out by the simple connection they made with their eyes. Booth knew though, that he was expected to say something. Before him stood his…partner - or whatever it was that they were now- and she had just told him that she was pregnant with his baby. Yes, he definitely had to say _something_.

The goofy grin was still spread all over his face as he inhaled deeply and forced out his clever response: "Really?" As soon as the word had left his lips, he felt like smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand. That was the best that he could do? Brennan's smile faltered quickly and her brow furrowed.

"You think I'm making this up?" Booth took a step towards her and Brennan watched him expectantly.

"No, no, Bones, of course not. I'm just…" He sighed as he reached out for her with his arms open. She stepped inside of them and welcomed the warmth he was providing as she leaned against his chest. Her heart was beating rapidly as her confession had made her feel like she took a jump from a high cliff. Nevertheless, she felt relieved that the truth was out now. "I feel shocked and ecstatic at the same time and I don't exactly know what to say."

Brennan snuggled deeper into the cocoon of his arms around her and she closed her eyes to savor the moment. "Do you…Is this…You're not mad?" Booth's opened his mouth to speak, but Brennan interrupted him by leaning back to look him into the eyes. "We didn't discuss birth control and I stopped taking the pill a while ago and I should have told you before we had sex, but it slipped my mind. I was very irresponsible and I understand if you don't want—"

"Woah, Bones, hold it a second." He released her from his hold and his hands went up to cup her cheeks, but fearing her reaction at such an intimate gesture in public, he decided to go for her upper arms instead. "I'm not mad at all! We're in this together, alright? You're not alone in this. Now, let's hail a cab and then we'll talk about it more at my place, okay?"

Just like that, Booth let go of her altogether as he walked to the side of the road and raised his hand up in the air. Brennan watched him, but remained standing on the spot, with her arms hanging loosely to her side. As a car stopped beside him, Booth looked back at her questioningly. She looked somewhat fragile, standing there by herself and Booth fought the urge to go back and wrap her in his arms again protectively. "Bones, what's wrong?"

"I'm really tired," she answered truthfully, shrugging her shoulders in defeat. Booth felt sympathetic towards her. She had to be exhausted. This day had been way too long, even for someone who was not pregnant. He could only imagine how she was feeling right now.

"It's okay, Bones. We can sleep first, talk later," Booth opened the door to the cab and then walked back to her to guide her inside. He wrapped his arm around her lower back, but he felt her hesitation as he gently walked with her. Before she could get in the cab, she paused in her stride to look back at Booth again.

"Booth, we're not even dating. I can head back to my own apartment and then we—"

"Well, that's something else we're going to have to talk about, don't you think?" Booth cut her off, reassuringly smiling at her. Luckily, the smile had a contagious effect on her as Brennan reflected it back at him.

"Okay," she agreed, before bending slightly to get in the car. Booth could not help himself but turn around to remember the scene where his whole life was turned upside down, in a matter of two short sentences. He suddenly felt something bubbling up along his spine. Turning away from the vehicle, he placed his hands at either side of his mouth and took in a deep breath:

"I'm going to be a father again!" Booth yelled out across the street. An elderly couple that walked by shook their heads at him in unison. A young man on a skateboard gave him the thumbs up. Booth placed his hands at the back of his head and stretched his back. Looking up at the moon in the sky, his smile widened even further. Things were bound to get more complicated, but he found himself really looking forward to it. With a last contented sigh, he got into the cab and sat down next to Brennan.

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><p>Brennan felt nervous, treading the unfamiliar waters of their shifted boundaries after she had been intimate with Booth. Sure, she had counted on the fact that they were compatible together in bed when it came to stamina, but all the emotions –and the other consequence- that came with it, were very overwhelming to her. Her father had called on them being 'awfully polite' with each other and that had confused Brennan. She did not know how to act around him otherwise. And since when was being polite such a bad thing?<p>

In the cab, Booth had been quiet, sending her smiles every now and then. He seemed to know just what to do. He was happy to learn that she was pregnant with his child and he wanted the world to know. He was confident that everything would fall into pieces, but Brennan herself was not. Not yet anyway.

Maybe it had been a mistake to go home with him. After all, they had only shared one night together in which things had taken a turn for the unexpected. They never talked it out afterwards. She was upset, he comforted her in the exact way that she had needed it to be. With this baby, they would linked together forever. Was that really what they both wanted? She did want to be with Booth, romantically, but getting pregnant before they ever tried to be together was never part of her plan.

Fatigue threatened to overtake her as Booth opened the door of the taxi and took her hand to help her get out. Booth was still Booth, but was she still herself? She shook her head. It was time to stop thinking now or she was never going to find the peace to sleep. Dragging herself up the steps to his apartment, she wondered if she should kiss him. Maybe that would clear things up, just like it had done six weeks ago.

Booth was still smiling as he opened the door and gestured for her to enter first; ever the gentleman. Brennan was too exhausted to protest and was pleased to be back in a warm room. She liked being here, in his apartment. Booth's furniture had contrasting light and dark colors and he kept all kinds of keepsakes on his shelves and window sills. Pictures of him and Parker covered the walls, making the place look very homey.

Brennan allowed Booth to take her coat before stepping inside the living room. There was a sports magazine on a side table and gym bag rested on the floor beside it. The room was clean and tidy and Brennan inhaled the air deeply, that smelled so much like the man that was bound to become such a big part of the rest of her life now. Heading for the couch, Brennan noticed that Booth never put the pillow and blanket away, which he had taken out for her to use on that one special night. It was piled up on the exact same spot where she had folded it and left it.

"Would you like a drink, before we go to sleep?" Booth asked Brennan as he headed to his kitchen. Brennan sat down on his couch. Bending forward, she unzipped her boots and kicked them off. Flipping her hair back over her shoulder, Brennan grabbed the pillow, placing it on the arm rest of the sofa. She leaned with her side against it and smiled in content. She drew her legs up on the sitting and warmed her hands between her upper legs.

"Yes, please," she replied, enjoying the comfortable setting and atmosphere that had not changed among everything else. Booth opened his refrigerator and took out two beer bottles. He popped them open and walked over to Brennan. Sitting down next to her, he watched her icy blue eyes look from the bottle to him before she let out a small laugh.

"Booth, I can't drink that anymore," she enlightened him. As much as she liked to drink alcohol and beer in particular, she knew that drinking while pregnant was not recommended. It was a worthy sacrifice. Booth looked at the beer bottle before he frowned and started laughing too.

"I'm sorry. Force of habbit," he apologized, as he got back up from the sofa and walked back to the kitchen. Praying to himself that he had something non-alcoholic in the fridge, other than water, he opened the door and peered inside. There was soda, but he knew that Brennan did not like drinks with gas. He had wine, other sorts of beer, drink yoghurt way past its date and…

"I've got milk and orange juice," he called out from the kitchen after a few minutes. Waiting for a few seconds and still not having received a reply, worried Booth a little. "Bones?" She had not just sneaked out the door, had she? Or maybe she was in the bathroom? Closing the fridge again with his foot, Booth headed back for the living room and stopped dead in his tracks at the display before him. Brennan was sleeping quietly, her head resting on the pillow with her hair lying in loose strands behind her head. Her chest moved slowly up and down in her peaceful slumber and Booth felt his heart swell even further than he ever thought possible.

Moving forward on his tiptoes, he sat down on the chair next to the couch. Grabbing the bottle of beer that he had placed on the table the first time he had sat down, he took a small sip, never taking his eyes off of Brennan. At times like these, you start to notice things you usually never do. He saw goose bumps up her arm; were people able to be cold in their sleep? Her eye lashes were long and thick; does mascara irritate the eyes if it is not removed before falling asleep? Her stomach was as flat as it appeared to be six weeks ago; how long would it take for her to start to show?

He was doubting himself on whether or not he should cover her with a blanket and let her sleep or wake her to take her to bed. Booth quickly finished his beer, listening to her even breathing. This pregnancy was a sign, he decided, that they were meant to be together. It had been one night only and in the heat of the moment, neither of them had remembered to bring up the subject of protection. These things did not happen to him, usually.

Booth put down his beer bottle and made up his mind that he could not let his pregnant Bones spend the night on his couch. Booth took off his shoes too, before getting up from the chair and sneaking to his bedroom on his socks. He pulled back the covers of the right side of the bed; Brennan's side, because he had learned that she wanted to sleep on the side that was closest to the door. He fluffed up the pillows and grabbed the same old oversized shirt that he had handed to her six weeks ago. All the other ones he had were even bigger.

Back in the living room, Booth knelt down in front of Brennan and lightly caressed her hair, causing her to stir. "Baby, we're going to have to move you to a proper bed." Booth spoke in a quiet whisper, because he did not intent to wake her up entirely.

"Don't want to…," Brennan muttered, stubbornly keeping her eyes closed. Booth forced himself to keep a straight face. There was his Bones…headstrong and difficult, but at least he knew it.

"Yes, we are. Don't worry, I'll help you," carefully pushing one arm underneath her shoulder blades while placing the other underneath her knees, Booth pushed himself up into upright position and lifted her up with him. Brennan's head leaned on the inside of his arm as he cradled her. Ignoring the protests of his back, he carefully carried her to the bedroom, making sure to walk as softly as he could so he would not shake her. Once there, he sat her down on the bed with her head leaning against his shoulder as he sat down beside her. He reached behind her for his shirt.

"I'm going to undress you now, Bones," he whispered. "Let's get you ready for bed." Brennan was barely able to lift her arms when he grabbed the hem of her sweater and pulled it up. Booth tried to ignore the sensual way in which her hair fell on her naked back as he managed to get the garment off and the soft pale skin that was revealed. Booth worried whether or not it was appropriate for him to take her bra off, but he decided to do it quick. He reached behind her and unhooked the dark green piece of lingerie. Without looking any further, he pulled his old shirt over her head and urged her to put her arms through the sleeves.

Brennan opened her eyes for a few seconds as Booth pulled his shirt down over her naked upper body. "I'm sorry," she said. Booth stared at her and placed his hands on either side of the mattress beside her.

"Don't apologize, Bones. You make me very—" He trailed off when Brennan leaned forward again and rested her cheek on his shoulder. Booth's hands automatically found its way to her back, and he just held them there for a while. 'Happy', he finished the sentence in his head. Realizing that Bones was falling asleep again, he gently eased her to lie down. Booth turned the alarm on the night table off before moving his attention back to her midsection. He unsnapped her pants and pulled the zipper down. Ever so carefully, he tugged it down her slender legs, before throwing it on a chair in the corner of the room. Finally, he took off her socks and grabbed the sheets at the foot of the bed.

He stood up and tugged Brennan in all the way up to her chin, making sure she would not be cold anymore. He then walked around to the other side of the bed and shed himself of his own clothing, except for his boxers. He climbed into the bed next to Brennan and wondered if he should press a kiss to her forehead. He decided against it, eventually. Things were tense enough between them now.

"Goodnight, Bones," his last words, before he flicked the switch next to the bed to turn off the lights. Lying down, Booth fell into a deep slumber as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was sure to have pleasant dreams for a change.

_AH's note: Tomorrow (yes, I can look into the future): B&B have their talk about them, the pregnancy and most importantly: what to do now? And what DOES Booth dream about?_

_Let me know if you'll be reading this, before I start this huge effort, only to find out nobody cares! _


	2. Week 8, day 2

**Hiatus **_by Ally H._

_AllyH's Note: I'll warn you up front that this chapter in unbeta-ed and only checked by the (somewhat lacking) spelling and grammar checker of Microsoft Word. Any funny mistakes are my own fault entirely for being such a lazy re-reader and for you to laugh at._

**Week 8, day 2**

"_Love is another country. (…) It's dangerous in another country." – Tift Merrit, 'Another Country'_

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><p>Unfortunately, Booth's dreams were not as peaceful as he had believed they would be. He found himself sitting in a bar, with his brother Jared, knocking back double scotches. Or rather, Jared was… Booth's glass was empty and although he had asked the bar tender multiple times, he did not refill his glass.<p>

Slumped forward on the bar stool, he rested his lower arms on top of the bar in front of him as he stared at the colorful bottles that were neatly placed on the shelves behind the bar. The dark labels on them informed him that there was enough alcohol present here to commit suicide. The talk with his brother was almost driving him to do so. The negativity that hung in the air between them was almost palpable.

Jared's poise was more upright, despite all the drinks he had. He did not seem to be intoxicated in the least. Taking a deep breath, he grinned at his brother as he spoke up again: "Well, you knocked up a woman out of wedlock again. How do you manage to get yourself into that situation a second time? Haven't you learned anything at all from the last time?" Booth turned his head with a jerk to stare at his brother.

"Hey, don't say it like that. Bones is not just 'a woman'!" He defended her, voicing his feelings towards her truthfully. Jared's grin widened as their eyes met.

"So what is she, then?"

Booth thought about it for a few seconds. "She's…Bones," and that was all he was willing to say to his brother on the matter. Bones was his. She was stubborn, difficult and very frustrating at times, but there was so much more underneath that surface. She had a good heart, she was loyal and caring and though he often disagreed with her about things, there was a mutual understanding between the two that they could get through anything together.

Jared raised both of his eyebrows as he turned his attention back to the bar and gestured to the tender for another refill. "So, what was she like in bed?" Booth's stare at him turned into an annoyed glare, warning him not to touch that subject again. Of course, he should have realized that his brother knew no boundaries. "Oh, come on. This is 2011, Seeley, you can just talk about it openly." He waved his arm in a half circle. "See all these people here? They all have sex; it's not uncommon or unheard of. And in a few months' time, everyone is going to know that you had sex too, with Temperance nonetheless!"

Booth slammed his glass down on the bar as his brother received another scotch and the bar tender walked straight past him without even looking. "It's just none of your business , alright? That's just something between me and Bones and no one else." Jared shrugged his shoulders and thought of another difficult question to torment Booth with:

"So, are you going to propose to her now?" Booth paused in his movements, but did not answer his brother as his jaws seemed glue together. Jared bend towards his brother, bowing his head forward so he take a better look at his face. "Hello? Are you going to marry her? Or are you scared that she is going to reject you just like everybody else did?"

Booth shook awake by something cold hitting his leg. Quickly sitting upright in bed he looked down at himself, before breathing out in relief. It was just Brennan's icy foot. Looking over to the other side of the bed, he noticed how she had shifted in his sleep. She was lying on her side, with her back towards him and her head no longer rested on the pillow. Some of her hair fell over the side of the bed like a curtain. She had her arms crossed in front of her belly, as if she was trying to protect their baby from whatever it was that she was facing in her dreams. Still enveloped in slumber, Booth marveled at how beautiful she looked in this natural state. The urge to reach out and touch her was almost unbearable, but he resisted because he did not want to wake her up.

Looking at his alarm clock, the green lit numbers told him it was 8:08 AM, a good time to get up and make them both some breakfast. Booth grabbed a jogging pants and a grey shirt and put them on as quietly as he could. Padding through the bedroom on his bare feet, he opened the door and slipped out to the hallway, glancing back at her one more time. Her face looked completely relaxed now, and all the stress and worry of the previous weeks were irretraceable on her soft features. Booth smiled.

No, he was not going to propose to her, he decided. Not with the risk of losing all of this.

The next challenge awaited him in the kitchen. Knelt down in front of the opened refrigerator, he realized he did not know what Bones could or could not eat. He had several kinds of cheese, but which ones were okay for her to have? What about milk; anything special he should know about that? Damn, had he not been through this once before with Parker? Shaking his head at his own ignorance, Booth closed the door and turned around to grab his laptop that he kept underneath his kitchen table. Booth sat down and placed the computer in front of him.

Patience was a familiar virtue to him, but not when it came to machines, so as the laptop booted up, Booth set himself to the task of making coffee. Oh wait, is Brennan even allowed to have caffeine now? He still had much to learn… He pressed the button of the coffeemaker anyway, because he sure as well was going to need some coffee.

Booth went back to his laptop and accessed the internet. Googling pregnancy and food rewarded him with a long list of reading material on what to eat, what to avoid eating, how pregnancy went by week to week, baby names, baby food… Booth scrolled through his options quickly and chose to educate himself on her food pattern first.

"Avoid caffeine, eat every three hours, no alcohol," he read out loud to himself, hoping to remember these golden rules. "A balanced breakfast: two slices of toast, a cut orange, a boiled egg and tomato juice." Tomato juice, really? He had a feeling that he was going to have to force her to drink that. Not to mention the three-hour-eat-rule; she easily starved herself until five o'clock in the afternoon if that would help speed up a case. Well, these days were over now, baby! Just leave it up to Agent Booth.

Booth turned his head to the fridge as if he had x-ray vision so he could see what was inside. He had bread and eggs, maybe an orange or two but tomato… Booth snapped his fingers. He did have tomato juice! Parker had made him buy it a couple of weeks ago out of curiosity, but he never tried it. Jumping back to his kitchen counter, Booth found the carton in a cabinet above the sink. He took the rest of the necessary contents out of the fridge and got to work.

Completely caught up in the process of preparing food for his Bones, he did not hear her slipping into the kitchen behind him. She was still wearing his shirt, but she had pulled her pants back on. Sliding herself on the seat behind Booth's laptop, she frowned at the text on the screen. "Sexual positions during pregnancy?" Brennan questioned.

Booth nearly jumped out of his skin as he suddenly heard someone speak up so close behind him. "Woah, Bones. You nearly gave me a heart attack there!" Booth exclaimed, reaching for his chest. Thank God he was not carrying his gun with him now. Exhaling in relief, he straightened his posture and wiped his hands on a paper towel. "Good morning to you too!"

"I'm sorry," Brennan said, her brows furrowed up apologetically. "Especially about last night. I would have been more fun if we had been trying any of these," Brennan gestured towards his laptop. Booth's mouth fell open and he shook his head.

"Oh, I wasn't reading that! I was, you know, reading up on what is happening to you now that you're pregnant. Learning about the foods that you need and how I can help, these sort of stuff. But then these annoying adds pop up out of nowhere and—" Booth could tell by the sly grin that started forming on her face that she did not believe him. He enjoyed seeing her like that so much that he decided to just leave it that way. He smiled back. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. I told you that."

Brennan glanced behind him at the kitchen counter. "What were you doing?"

Booth turned his attention back to his efforts and took the boiling water with two eggs off the stove. Steam rose up as Booth poured the hot water down the sink and caught the eggs in a strainer. "I am making us breakfast," he answered, pouring cold water on the eggs.

Brennan looked down into her lap. "I don't…I don't usually eat breakfast." Cracking the egg shells, Booth peeled the layer off of the eggs and placed them on the two ready-made plates. Cutting them in pieces with a knife, Booth was pleased with the end result. He proudly set one plate down in front of Brennan and another one at the head of the table, so that he could sit down next to her and watch her at the same time. He handed her a knife and fork and placed another set next to his plate. Finally, he placed the bowls of the oranges he had cut neatly into edible triangles on the table.

"Maybe it's about time you try, huh Bones? You now have someone else you have to keep healthy too." He tried to encourage her. "Doesn't this look restaurant worthy?"

Brennan nodded. "It looks really great, Booth." She was worried that she would never be able to finish it all though. She appreciated all the trouble Booth had gone through in order to do all this, but the domesticity of it all was very new to her. She smiled politely. "Do you have some coffee too, maybe?"

Uh-oh, prepare to fight. "Yeah, about that…" Booth trailed off. "It's much better to stay off of the caffeine while you are pregnant. You can have this instead: tomato juice! Now, how about that?" Booth had to keep himself from laughing as Brennan wrinkled her nose in disgust. Brennan felt too nervous about everything to start an argument with him now, so she toughened herself up and took a large gulp. Booth started feeling a little bad for her though and poured himself a glass of juice too, out of loyalty to her. He sat down at the table and held up his glass. "Cheers." Taking a sip from the glass, he nearly gagged as he tasted the artificial fluid that did not taste anything like tomatoes at all.

Just when he was about to complain, Brennan licked her lips and shrugged her shoulder. "This is actually not too bad," she commented in delight, taking another sip. Booth watched her with both of his eyebrows raised.

"I'm glad you seem to think so," he replied. Shaking his head in disbelief, he continued with the meal instead. Do the taste buds of pregnant women change at such an early stage already? He had expected hell to break loose, but he enjoyed this peaceful moment much more. As he poked at his egg with the fork, he watched Brennan nibble on a piece of toast. It suddenly occurred to him that she looked much better in his shirt than he had ever done himself. Sure, it was too big around the waistline and the sleeves were actually a bit too long for—

"Do you want to have sex with me again?" Brennan asked out of nowhere. She casually looked up from her food to glance up at him with a serious face. Booth smacked his chest when he choked on a piece of food.

"Wow, way to bring up a subject like that, Bones!" Booth took a sip from a small water bottle that had probably been standing on the kitchen table for over three weeks, but he did not care. That was his Bones; subtle like an elephant.

Brennan frowned, innocent and unaware of the weight of the question she just asked. "What? I thought you said you wanted to talk about us?"

"Yes Bones, us! Us as in a couple, two people involved in a relationship. Not like friends with benefits who just so happen to have a baby together! We are more than just sex, Bones!" Booth clarified, raising his voice. He noticed the slightest quiver of her bottom lip when he looked up at her and he instantly felt sorry. It was only now that he could tell how much yesterday's news had affected him and how insecure he was about this situation. Brennan's eye dropped down again and she started fidgeting in her seat.

"I…ehm…" Really not knowing what to say, Brennan decided to push herself away from the table and leave, all thoughts of food forgotten. She was going to get dressed and go home and things would work itself out eventually. She was going to lie down on her bed and cry and think everything over. Booth quickly jumped up and went after her.

"Bones, that came out all wrong, I'm sorry." She stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him. They were standing in the middle of his living room now and Brennan wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "I'm scared too, of whatever this thing is between us. We're like magnets, continuously pushing and pulling at each other and I don't want to do this anymore. Not with you and not with our baby." He saw some hesitation in Brennan's eyes, so he continued:

"I want to be with you, as your life partner, Bones. Rebecca didn't allow me to be as involved when she got pregnant and now Parker is constantly commuting between me and her and…" Booth paused to take a deep breath and one more step towards her. "I don't think that's necessary with you and me."

Brennan unwrapped her arms from around herself to place her hands on Booth's chest, feeling his heart beat against her palm. She cursed herself as she realized how much she really cared about this warmhearted man and how difficult she had found it to walk away from him. She swallowed nervously, unable to pretend that she was as self-assured as Booth was. "So what do you propose?"

Booth closed the remaining distance between their bodies. "I want to be your boyfriend and I want you to be my girlfriend. I want it all, Bones. The whole exclusive relationship with all of its strings attached. I want to have this baby with you and raise it together. I want to give this baby the stable and happy childhood that neither of us have ever had." The last sentence struck a chord with Brennan, because he noticed tears forming in her eyes.

"But I only want it whenever you're ready," Booth concluded. Brennan bit her lip and broke all eye contact with him when the tears finally surfaced. Booth placed one hand on the back of her head and the other one between her shoulder blades so he could pull her close. Brennan snuggled into his chest exactly like she had done yesterday. Booth caressed her lightly and kissed the top of her head, feeling her hair tickle softly against his cheek.

Her tears were staining his shirt, but he did not care. When she pulled back and stepped away from his, she wiped her eyes with her fingers. "I'm sorry. It's the hormones, I guess." Booth bend his head down so he could look her closely in the eye.

"Will you please do me a favor and stop apologizing?" Brennan nodded and forced a smile. Booth cocked his head to the side. "How are you feeling now?"

Brennan shrugged her shoulders, not really sure how else she could express her confusion and all these mixed emotions that had started to course through her ever since she found out she was pregnant. "I feel vulnerable. I have lost my last bit of imperviousness," she shrugged her shoulders again for emphasis. "What if we don't work out? I wouldn't know how to deal with that, Booth!"

"I still believe in fate, Bones. Us, conceiving a baby that one time that we got together, means something," Booth tried to reassure, although he knew that she did not share his belief. Any words of comfort he could think of seemed suitable right now.

Brennan giggled softly before letting out a shaky breath. "As I recall, it was more than one time Booth." Booth shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. It's still a sign of the universe," Booth argued. Brennan smiled. Booth wanted to tell her how beautiful she was whenever she did, but feared to do so, in case she would not take him seriously.

"About before…I just saw your computer screen with these sexual positions and I figured you were looking at it because you wanted to sleep with me again," Brennan looked away from him, to avoid bursting out into tears once more. She felt foolish enough already. "And it's very logical, because I too enjoyed myself when we were together and I wouldn't mind experiencing that again. Hence, my stupid question."

"Hey Bones, I'm not saying that I don't want to have sex with you anymore. It's just that a next time, I would rather make love to you. Six weeks ago, it happened in the heat of the moment while I was trying to comfort you, but from now on, I want it to mean something. Something more than back then, although I have no regrets about that time either," Booth explained. Bones thought for a while.

"I really want to be with you, but I'm going to need some time to get used to the idea of us and the fact that we're going to be having a baby together. I have to adjust," Brennan shook her head. "I never felt like this before and I just don't know what to do about it yet. Maybe I'll do something wrong and we'll end up hating each other and then this will be another child brought into a broken family." Brennan could feel her pulse quicken again. She was stressing herself out again, which was a very unproductive and unhealthy thing to do. She slowly breathed out through the mouth, reminding herself that there was a very fragile fetus growing inside of her, which was not resistant to stress.

Booth reached for her hand again and grasped it in his own. "Do you remember what I told you a few minutes ago? Only when you're ready. We can take things slow, day by day, see how it goes. I am your boyfriend now, okay? I understand. And I respect you. Now, shall we get you fed and then go to your apartment? You can pick up some stuff and then come here, or I could stay with you there. If you want to be alone, I'll accept that too without any problems. Okay? I'll leave it up to you."

Brennan felt her stomach flutter as she received a warm smile from him. "I'll get dressed first."

Booth nodded. "Sure." He let go of her hand and headed back to the kitchen. How was it, that everything seemed so easy and natural to Booth, Brennan wondered. He lived under the impression that if they ever got together as a couple, nothing could ever tear them apart. It was at times like these that she hated being so rational and therefore more pessimistic than he was.

The sun started shining brightly through the window as Brennan stood there on her own. A ray of light touched her face and warmed her cheeks. She laughed. Was this a 'sign-of-the-universe' too? Was the sun supposed to tell her that everything was going to be alright? Well, she was going to test it.

"Hey, Booth!" she called out to him. He came back to the living room in a few seconds.

"What's up, Bones?" he questioned, looking somewhat worried. He caught the playful glint in Brennan's eye, which made him doubtful. With Bones it was always one thing or the other. He either had to be very careful now and mind his every step, or he could relax and take a breath.

She straightened her shoulder and lifted her chin up at him ever so slightly. It was the same posture she always gave him when she was in a defiant mood. "In my second trimester, my sex drive could increase a lot."

Booth rewarded her with a sly half smile of his own and finally let out the breath that he had been holding. "Well, you know me, Bones. I always aim to please." As they both walked into different directions, Booth placed his hands around his mouth and raised his voice loud enough for her -and his neighbors- to hear. "I'll aim to please you, Bones!"

A small giggle resounded from the bedroom.

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><p><em>AllyH's note: Oh my God, I hope I'm not incapable of writing short chapters or my house will seriously go to waste. Not to mention my job, haha! Now, on to more important things (capital alert!):<em>

_THANK YOU ALL! I came home to 100+ reviews yesterday and 250+ alerts. I feel very blessed and honored. I'm going to try and reply to all of your reviews, but if someone gets beaten up at work again, I'll probably get behind on them very soon. _

_Some of you lovelies commented on my writing. Thank you so much! English is NOT my first language, so I'll warn you up front that my quality of writing will depend on my level of energy and inspiration. Feel free to comment on my faulty grammar and/or wrong choice of words. Who knows, I might actually learn something this summer._

_I hope I can live up to your expectations and entertain you through the summer. I won't promise I'll do this all the way up to September, because who knows? You might be sick of me by the tenth chapter or so!_

_Future vision AKA what's happenin' tomorrow: Bones is feeling sick! Is it Booth's cooking? Is it Brennan's stress? Is it the dreaded morning sickness? But more importantly, what (or who) can cure it? _

_And a question for you to ponder in the next couple of weeks: Can Booth truly get over his catholic importance of marriage before childbirth, or is he going to want to marry Brennan after all? _

_Can't wait to find out how you all liked this chapter!_


	3. Week 8, day 3

**Hiatus** by Ally H.

_AllyH's note: Okay, I admit it: I'm a car-singer. And now, whenever I hear a song, I always seem to find lyrics that fit Booth and Brennan so perfectly. Such as the one below, I would hire it as a theme song if I had that much power. I apologize in advance again for any language/grammar mistakes. But, I think the length of the chapter will make up for any stupidities on my part. _

Week 8, day 3

Fetal Development: An ultrasound done at this stage should show a fluttering heartbeat. Elbows begin to form in the arms and fingers start to develop. The leg buds begin to show feet with tiny notches for the toes. The face continues to change as the ears, eyes and the tip of the nose appear. The intestines start to form in the umbilical cord. Teeth develop under the gums.(Source: Sporknet)

"_Under the weight of your wings, I make believe you are all that I'll ever need. All that I need." – Anna Nalick, 'In My Head' _

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><p>Brennan hugged her pillow more tightly against her cheek and willed herself to think of something else than the nausea that threatened to overtake her…again. It crept up her spine, making her feel uncomfortable and sick everywhere inside her body. She kept her eyes tightly closed and breathed in through the nose and out through the mouth. If she remained here, in her own bed, not moving an inch, maybe she would be okay after all.<p>

It had probably been her own fault that caused her to be like this. If she had not gotten herself that worked up yesterday, she probably would have been up now and drinking a cup of tea out on her balcony, enjoying the morning sun. Instead, she found herself stuck in this dark bedroom, all by herself with the curtains closed. She had spent half of the night puking her guts out and she waited for sleep to come and take her now. Thank God it was Sunday, so she could spend the rest of the day in bed and not be bothered by anyone from work.

As if she jinxed her own luck with her bare thoughts, the doorbell rang. Brennan opened one eye to glance at the clock. Ten A.M., it was probably the paper boy. That darned kid even came to ask for money on Christmas morning. She would pay him tomorrow. Brennan closed her eye again and forced herself to ignore the knocking that seemed to get more and more persistent. If she would stand up now, she was surely going to lose that glass of water she drank half an hour ago and she really did not feel up to having to clean _THAT_ mess too. The world could wait one more day, Brennan decided.

Placing both of her hands on her stomach, underneath her tank top, she rubbed her skin gently as if this would help soothe the turmoil that was raging on inside of her. Her belly showed no signs of pregnancy at this point, Brennan concluded, as she skidded across the area with her fingertips. Although her taught stomach muscles betrayed nothing, the three positive pregnancy tests, the confirmation by her general practitioner and her almost painful breasts proved it: She was going to have a baby.

The knocking on the door finally stopped as Brennan's thoughts trailed off to Booth and the conversation they had had yesterday. He had managed to convince her of the one thing that mattered most to her: This baby was welcome. No matter how much of a surprise it had been to him –and her, although she had known for about a week now- he took it very well. Brennan had felt insecure telling him. Booth was a good man, but it would have crushed her heart if he had turned his back on this baby or her or…

She vaguely heard her cell phone ring in her purse that she had placed in the corner of the bedroom last night. Booth had left in the early evening, because Brennan requested some time to think. Although she enjoyed his presence, he also distracted her and at this point in their developing relationship she was still trying to find a balance. Brennan ignored the phone and shifted, so that she could lie on her other side. Her stomach turned along with the rest of her body and Brennan quickly sat up, covering her mouth with both of her hands.

A burp escaped her mouth, but luckily it was followed by nothing. As the wave of nausea slowly disappeared, her home phone on the night stand started ringing. Brennan rolled her eyes as she reached for the receiver, figuring she would not be left alone before she finally gave a sign of life. Using one hand to comb the hair away from her eyes, she used the other to pressed the button on her phone.

"Brennan," she introduced, not caring about whether or not she sounded grumpy.

"Bones, it's Booth," the male voice responded on the other side. "What the hell is going on? I left you like five text messages, I've been pounding on your door for half an hour and you are not answering your cell phone. Your car is parked in front of your apartment building, so if you're not home, where the hell are you? I even checked the goddamned swimming pool!"

Brennan cringed as his raised voiced caused her head to begin pounding again. In her opinion, he was completely overreacting and she really would have told him off if it had not been for the genuine worry that was evident in his voice. Brennan shifted so that she could lean back into her pillow as she spoke to him.

"I'm in my apartment, in bed. I'm not feeling well." Brennan accidentally burped again. "I'm sorry," she excused herself. Then her curiosity got the better of her. "What—" 'are you doing here' was the other part of the sentence, but she broke herself off, realizing that that question sounded unnecessarily hostile.

"I'm standing outside your door. Are you capable of letting me in?" Booth asked. Brennan remembered she had moved the spare key, because the neighbor's cat kept fetching it from underneath the doormat. Otherwise, Booth probably would have let himself in already about half an hour ago. "I just…I came to make sure that you were alright."

Brennan felt a flutter in her stomach; one that was not the cause of the overwhelming nausea for a change. "The spare key in underneath the plant trough in the window sill of my kitchen." She hung up the phone and laid back down again. She heard the sound of her front door opening and then closing, before quick footsteps hurried their way towards her.

Booth knocked on the bedroom door politely, before stepping in. He found Brennan lying in the dark, curled up on her side, with the sheets covering the lower half of her body. "Hi," he greeted her, kneeling down beside her bed. Brennan reached a hand up to turn on a small lamp on the night stand, bathing both of their faces in a yellow glow.

"Hi," Brennan forced a small smile. "I'm sorry, I won't be the finest company today. I've been up all night, vomiting."

Booth felt bad for her and the concerned voice that she heard on the phone before had now made its way up to a worried facial expression. "Is the morning sickness starting to kick in?" Brennan shrugged her shoulders.

"Probably, although the term is highly inaccurate. I first got nauseas in the evening." Now that Booth was sitting so close to her, she could trace all the features in his face with her eyes. Her gaze shifted from his eyes, down to his nose and then his lips, before she quickly looked back up at his warm brown eyes shyly. A part of her really wanted to kiss him. Not only was he pleasing to look at, he was also the father of the baby she was carrying and he was here to look after her. He was everything one could look for in a man. Yet, there was another part of her that told her not to, afraid of what would happen next and scared of being rejected once again.

Booth smiled sadly. He knew that she was studying him and that it was hard for her make sense of it all. He himself had a hard time putting everything into perspective too. He had decided to give her all the space she needed as long as she would allow him to check up on her regularly. He reached inside the pocket of his coat and took out a roll of mints. "Would you like one of these?"

As the strong smell of mint reached Brennan's nose, she twisted away from him violently, turning her back towards him. "Put that away!" She demanded, closing her eyes as if that would help her ban out her environment entirely.

Booth pulled back his arm as if he had burned himself on a hot plate. "But you always say you enjoy the fresh scent of peppermint!"

"Yes, and now it just makes me want to curl. Please, get it away from me!" Brennan waved with her hand rapidly, before dropping it to the mattress.

The corner of Booth's mouth pulled up into a small smile. "You mean it's making you want to_ hurl_, Bones," he corrected. He watched her sigh in defeat and Booth slumped his shoulders. He reached up to brush her hair with his fingers. He really wanted to help her, but he just did not know _how_.

Looking around the room, Booth noticed something was missing here, which made him come up with an idea. Booth got up from the ground and looked over to the other side of the room. He figured she might have put it on the night stand of the other side of the bed, but no such thing. She did not leave it on the ground either. "Bones, where is your laptop?"

She turned her head to look up at the ceiling, because looking at Booth required turning her body with her, which was not very appealing to her at this point. "On the desk in my study, why?"

Booth had already moved himself towards the door, in all his excitement for finding a possible solution forgetting to even ask her if he could use it. "I'll be right back," he promised, before stepping outside the room, leaving the door open so that he could hear her in case anything was wrong. Brennan lifted herself up on her elbows and frowned in confusion.

Booth had spent enough time in Brennan's apartment to come to know all the rooms. Her home was much more spacious than his, but there was not nearly as much decoration or furniture. Booth hung his coat on a hook in the hallway before he entered the living room, pleased to find that she had finally purchased herself a television. The remote control was still in plastic, discarded on the side table. Booth turned to the right and entered her study. The desk was facing the window, providing a nice view of the street that lay below. Booth sat down behind it. He watched a couple pass by behind a stroller and he wondered if he was ever going to be like that with Brennan. He followed them with his eyes until they rounded the corner and were out of sight. Booth exhaled slowly. Everything he needed to be happy was right here, with his Bones and the baby she was carrying.

Suddenly remembering again why he was here, Booth opened Brennan's laptop and turned it on. Oh great, another thing they would disagree on… Brennan had a Macbook computer, which he believed had the most frustrating software one could ever encounter. Booth shook his head in distaste. When asked for the password, Booth typed 'Daffodil' and was very pleased with himself when access was allowed. It took Booth a couple of minutes to figure out how to get on the internet and how to open and close tabs. By the time he finally found the website he was looking for, he was ready to open a window and throw the godforsaken thing out .

Booth had spent his entire evening yesterday by Googling and bookmarking websites on pregnancy. He even installed a week-by-week calendar on his computer, which educated him on the baby's growth and the changes taking place in and on Brennan's body. He knew he could not have it set accurately yet, because he needed to know the date when she had her last period to do so. He felt kind of weird asking her about that.

Clicking on a link with tips for morning sickness, Booth read the ideas that had been sent in by other women. Chewing on a piece of mint was obviously not going to work with her. Other tips included crackers, pure ginger ale and pregnancy tea. "Pregnancy tea?" Booth questioned out loud. He would have to check that out at a pharmacy later on. Sucking on a lemon, peanut butter and jelly crackers were recommended too, while several women were involved in a heated discussion whether or not a cup of coffee could cure it too.

Feeling confident that he had enough information now, Booth set himself to the task of discovering how to shut the computer down. Booth waited patiently as he finally managed to find the right button and hoped the screen would go black soon. Looking around, he noticed how Brennan had organized everything into neat categories. The fiction books were in a book case, separated from the non-fiction. The bills she got in the mail were divided into categories such as electricity/gas/water and car. Prints from the new book she was writing were on the top of her desk. Booth glanced at the pile of papers, but he respected her too much to read it without her permission.

Booth closed the laptop when it had finally turned itself off. Booth left the room and closed the door, heading straight for the kitchen. Not knowing where he could find anything around here, Booth decided to open all the kitchen cabinets and check its contents as he went. Brennan did not have any lemons or peanut butter, but she did have lemon jelly. She did not have peanut butter or peanuts…or butter. She did not have crackers, but she did have toast. Booth was glad when he finally found something from the list under the sink; pure ginger ale. It figured that Brennan would not consume anything ordinary, but did purchase products that people usually only had on parties. She still had truckloads of that earwax beer in her fridge.

Pouring her a generous glass of ginger ale in a glass he found in one of the cabinets and making her toast with a strangely colored lemon jelly, Booth realized that he was making her breakfast for the second day in a row…and that he enjoyed it. He closed all the doors again which he had opened upon his arrival in the kitchen and left for the bedroom.

Brennan was sitting up, with her head leaning against the headboard, her back against the pillow. She curiously looked up at Booth as he entered the room, holding a plate and a glass. "Bones," he said in his instructive voice, "according to other pregnant women, this should help." He handed her the plate and placed the glass down on her nightstand. "It's lemon-jelly toast and ginger ale."

Brennan looked at the food and smiled at Booth, who set down in front of her, at the foot of the bed. "At least this doesn't smell as strong as your mints." Booth saw the smile almost transforming into a smirk, before she picked up a piece of toast and put it in her mouth. She grimaced at the taste, making Booth laugh softly.

"What? All of sudden this isn't good enough for you anymore either? These are all your own groceries!" Booth teased. Brennan shook her head. Her disheveled hair danced along with her movement.

"I think I'm turning into someone else." She grabbed the glass of ginger ale and took a sip to wash the taste of the jelly away. The drink did not earn him another one of her outspoken reactions, so Booth figured that the ginger ale was not so bad in her opinion.

Despite the fact that she was not feeling well at all, it had obviously not damaged her special sense of humor. "Yeah, that explains it." Their eyes met when Brennan placed another piece in her mouth. Booth's smiling ones effected hers as she started smiling back at him. The depth of his brown eyes caused her to temporarily forget to chew. These were moments that they were both remembered of how strong the chemistry was between them. A single look that had the both of them mesmerized with each other and for a few seconds it felt like there was nothing but them together in this world. There were no more demands, no errands to run, no morning sickness…

Booth wanted to kiss her. He wanted to reach out for her and hold on to her. He wanted to mold her pliant body against his own and stay like that for the rest of the day. He wanted to feel her hair tickle the sides of his face as it falls forward like a curtain, just like it had done six weeks ago. Looking at Brennan like that, he could tell that similar thoughts were running through her mind.

"So, did you get this idea from your sexual positions website?" Brennan asked, breaking the moment by looking back at her plate. She raised both of her eyebrows playfully, trying to trigger Booth. Brennan took the glass and drank about half of it before she placed it back again. Booth could read her facial expressions before she herself was even aware of making them and Booth leaned back casually.

"No, I got this from the former ten women I impregnated. I keep in touch with them via email, that's why I asked to use your computer," he replied. Brennan looked up to find him smiling like the smart-ass that he was trying to be. Thank God, he was only joking.

Brennan shifted, poking Booth with her feet underneath the sheets. "You are such a—" Brennan was interrupted by a burp that had forced its way up her throat. Brennan clasped both of her hand in front of her mouth, knowing what could be coming next.

Booth shut upright, quickly taking the plate from her lap to put it to the side. "Bones?"

She shook her head, not wanting to say anything as she felt the familiar tingling in her lower belly. Jumping from her bed, she ran to the bathroom, almost tripping over the sheets. She did not even bother to turn on the light. She barely made it to the toilet, before she dropped on her knees and started gagging. Booth entered the bathroom and turned on the light, watching his Bones throw up her supposedly healing breakfast.

"Oh baby," he said, feeling as worried as he did when she had been MIA earlier this morning. He rushed over to her side, gathering her hair in his hands and pulling it back behind her. With his other hand, he gently rubbed her back in a soothing matter. As another wave of nausea hit her, Brennan placed a hand on Booth's chest, trying to push him away, but Booth was determined to show her that he was going to be there for her in good and bad times and that he chose to stay. Brennan smacked his chest, emphasizing that she really did not need him to see this, but as he remained sitting by her, her flat hand turned into a grasp, holding on to his shirt desperately.

Once the retching stopped, Brennan wiped her mouth with a piece of toilet paper, before throwing it in and flushing the toilet. Letting go of Booth, she stood up and walked over to the sink to rinse her mouth. Booth got up too, waiting for her to finish. When she turned around, she looked down for a few seconds before she dared to move up to Booth's caring face. "That's how it's been all night. You really don't have to stay here to witness more of this, I can handle it," she pleaded, rubbing her upper arms with her hands.

Booth remained standing in front of her. "Grab a sweater and some easy pants to wear. I'm taking you out," he said in a determined voice, letting her know that there was no sense in arguing. That did not mean that Brennan was not going to try, of course.

"No, Booth," she said, feeling utterly exhausted. "Two-third of all pregnant women experience morning sickness. You don't have to take me anywhere. On the contrary, this is my body telling us that it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do!"

Booth shook his head and took a step forward towards her. "We're going to get you better, Bones. Trust me, okay?" With a small smile, solely meant to reassure her, he guided her back to the bedroom, with his hand on the small of her back. "I'll put on your shoes and socks, so that you don't have to bend forward and come back up again."

Brennan's mouth fell open in shock. Who was he to come and think he could take charge of this situation? She was the boss of her own body, right? Booth handed her a sweater that was hanging on a hook from her closet. He found a simple black pants and black socks folded on top of a laundry basket, which he placed down on the bed. He directed her to sit down on the bed.

"Go put that on," he instructed her, nodding to the sweater she was clutching.

"Booth, I'm going to need a bra," Brennan reminded him defiantly. Booth's eyes automatically travelled to her chest, covered in nothing more than that simple black tank top, but he quickly looked away as Brennan unconsciously straightened her back.

"We'll only be gone for like forty-five minutes, Temperance. I'm not taking you out to dinner. Please, will you put that on for me?" Booth requested urgently. Hearing her first name come from his lips sounded so unfamiliar that she decided it was probably best to do as he said. Pulling on the sweater, Brennan then pulled her pajama pants down, before collapsing to sit back on the edge of the bed again.

Booth knelt down and again set himself to the task of just getting her dressed, without looking at her beautiful body. She raised her slender legs up to him so that he could put on her socks without straining his back. Brennan exhaled slowly through her mouth, feeling that the nausea still had not gone completely. "You know that movement is only going to make me feel more sick, right?" Brennan reminded him, but she smiled when he turned his head to look up at her. "But I do trust you."

Booth smiled to. "Thanks, Bones." He pulled her pants up her above knees and Brennan could grab it herself. He gently helped her feet into her shoes, before Brennan stood up and pulled up her pants. Booth grabbed both of their coats from the hallway and helped her get into hers. Brennan quickly ran a brush through her hair while Booth waited patiently.

"Are we good to go?" He asked her, when she put the brush back down. Brennan nodded, grabbing hold of his arm as they finally headed out.

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><p>Booth took her to Wong Foo's. Brennan had managed to survive the trip without vomiting all over his car and both of them were glad for that. Booth parked right in front of the Chinese restaurant, not caring whether that was even allowed. As he helped Brennan get out of the car. He wrapped an arm around her back, supporting her with his strength.<p>

Brennan rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Booth, I'm pregnant. I'm not disabled."

"I'm just protecting you, Bones. Who knows what all throwing up could do to you, huh?" That was only half of the truth, however. He also enjoyed holding her like this, keeping her so close to him that he could smell the shampoo of her hair. Brennan liked his proximity to her too, which was the only reason she did not complain any further. She was not dizzy and therefore perfectly capable to walk on her own.

Booth opened the door to the restaurant for her and led her inside. Sid, the restaurant's owner, walked right up to him. "Hi Sid," Booth greeted him. "Table for two, please."

"Sure, nice to see you again Agent Booth, doctor Brennan," the man replied, holding his hand out to a place next to the window. Since it was only morning, not many tables were taken, except for a few Asians who came here for almost every meal of the day. Booth thanked him, Brennan smiled awkwardly.

As they walked to their table, Brennan slapped his arm, but not as hard as she usually would. "What the hell are you thinking? I'm not hungry, obviously!" Booth pulled out a chair and gestured for Brennan to sit down. Like a gentleman, he shoved the chair towards her as she sat down, before sitting on the opposite side of him. She was still glaring at him as he took her hand above the table and gave it a light squeeze. She inhaled deeply. "I can't believe you got me out of bed just to let me vomit all over the floor of a well-known restaurant."

"Don't underestimate Sid's healing powers, Bones. You're going to be fine." Booth squeezed her hand one last time, before withdrawing his own. Brennan looked at her empty hand and only realized now how much she had enjoyed his warmth. Sid walked up to their table and took a good look at the both of them.

"I've got just the thing for you," he said, winking at Brennan. "I'll be right back." With that, the man walked off again. Brennan raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. Booth looked triumphant.

"See? Now, what did I tell you? He's going to cure you."

Brennan narrowed her eyes. "There's no such thing. The only way he could cure me is if he gave me an abortion." She shrugged her shoulders. "I think it's safe to assume that that's something neither one of us wants."

Now, it was Booth's turn to raise his eyebrow. Her rational part was kicking in again, maybe the air in this place was already having a cleansing effect on her. Good, because he still had something he had to talk to her about. "Hey Bones, about tomorrow at work…"

"I don't want to tell anybody yet," Brennan answered for him. Booth's mouth fell open, slightly taken aback by her hasty response. He had no idea what to say to her. He had no idea what it was that he himself really wanted. Brennan cleared it up for him: "20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage in the first trimester. I want to wait until then, because there is still such a chance that everything might go wrong and if it does…I don't want too many people questioning me about it."

Booth looked at her, sitting across from him, telling him just how vulnerable she still was. If it had not been for them being in such a public place as a restaurant, he would have gathered her up in his arms right about now. So instead, he placed both of his hands on the table, palm tilted upwards. Bones looked up at him in confusion. "Give me your hands," he requested. Brennan did and hesitantly placed them on top of his. Booth grasped them both with his own. "Bones, I get what you're saying and I think it's a valid reason. I just want you to know that whatever happens…you'll never be alone. Do you get that?"

Brennan nodded and took a deep breath, on the verge of breaking out in tears again for the hundredth time in this past week. "Thank you, Booth. I know you're always there."

"Yes, I am," he confirmed. "What about you and me? Is there anything you want to tell people about us?"

"I don't know. Can we really tell one thing without the other?" Brennan thought about it some more, before the panic kicked in full-throttle. "Oh my God, Booth! The FBI, they're not going to let us work together anymore. I don't want to be assigned to someone else!"

Booth could feel her hands starting to fidget inside of his own. He gripped them a little tighter, so that she had no choice but to hold them still. He leaned forward, trying to smile at her reassuringly. "Then we're just going to have to make sure that _they_ won't come to know," he spoke in a soft voice, so that only she won't here.

Brennan glanced sideways nervously. "Can we do that?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "We're just not going to tell them. Don't worry, Bones. Everything will be okay, I promise you. And we could just tell your squints in the lab together whenever we think that the time is right."

The corners of Brennan's mouth curved up ever so slightly as she nodded and looked up at him. "I believe you, Booth. If you say that we're going to be okay, I'm willing to put my faith in that." He smiled and lifted one of their hands up, so he could press a kiss on the back of hers. The gesture was gentle, but also very sensual and it made Brennan feel all nice and warm inside. She liked to believe that she was still in control, that it were only hormones that were throwing her so emotionally off balance, but rationally, she knew she had hopelessly fallen for Booth and all of his antics.

Sid then came walking back towards them, holding two plates with two steaming bowls on top of them. Booth and Brennan quickly released their hands. He first served Brennan, before placing the other plate down in front of Booth. "For you, I have prepared a vegetarian Miso Soup. It works great against nausea, headaches and the like," he told Brennan, who tried her best not to inhale any smell. The liquid was a light color and there were noodles on the bottom. Brennan was not as convinced as he was, that she would be able to keep this down. Sid then turned to Booth. "I got you the seven organ soup."

"Ah!" Booth exclaimed, chuckling. "Soup for a real man, right?" Sid nodded and then left them to themselves. Brennan grabbed a spoon, but did not immediately start eating yet.

"How did he know I was a vegetarian? How did he know about my nausea and headache?" She pondered the question with a frown.

Booth smiled. "It's magic, Bones. Just wait and see."

They ate their meals in silence, as Brennan was expecting to get sick at any time. She ate slowly, holding in her breath when she ate. Booth was already finished with his meal when Brennan had only finished half of hers. She could feel Booth stare at her, making her feel a little uncomfortable. When she looked up, Booth pretended to be looking at something else. Brennan smiled and finished her meal.

"How's your tummy?" Booth asked her afterwards. Brennan placed both of her hands on said area, as if it was going to start talking to her.

"It's better! My nausea is gone!" She said, laughing. Magic or not, she felt relieved now. Not only had she had a full meal, she was actually getting the chance to digest it too! Booth laughed back at her and suddenly they were just two happy people again, sharing a deep connection that no one could come in between.

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><p>Booth took Brennan home straight after he bought half a gallon of miso soup to take home with them. He did not have to ask her to know that she exhausted. Her skin looked even paler than usual and she was slumping against everything again: the back of the chair, the car door, his body. When they were back at her apartment, Booth went in with her to put the soup in her fridge. Brennan walked straight towards her bedroom. When he found her undressing again, he took that as his cue to leave.<p>

"I'll eh…I guess I'll see you tomorrow at work, Bones," Booth attempted, a sad excuse for a goodbye.

Brennan turned her head towards him. She had taken off her sweater and her socks and was just about to change into her pajama pants again. "Yeah," she said, breathing out slowly. "Thanks again for everything, Booth."

"You're welcome," he nodded, clearing his throat. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coats, before turning himself around and walking away. Brennan sighed and bit her lip. Every single cell inside her body was screaming at her to get up and go after him and ask him to stay with her. But what the hell would be the point? So that he could watch television in the living room while she slept?

She heard her front door open and then closing again. Afterwards, the apartment was silent again. Brennan felt like she could slap herself. What she wanted, what she really wanted, was to feel his arms around her. It was stupid and immature, but she could not help feeling that way. Without him, she did not feel nearly as complete as when he was with her. Everything was easier when he was beside her.

With an empty heart, Brennan threw the covers back and was about to slip underneath until she heard footsteps, making their way towards the bedroom. She was surprised to see Booth's head appear in the doorway. He looked down at his shoes and did not say anything for a couple of seconds.

"I never left," he confessed, nervously flicking his thumbs inside of his coat's pockets. "I thought that… maybe I should stay. You know, just in case you get sick again. I could warm you some soup and eh… clean the toilet." He was serious. She could tell by the look of his face and the tightness in his jaw. On his free Sunday, the day before the start of another long week of work, he offered to stay with her. Was this real?

Brennan's eye widened and her mouth suddenly felt really dry. She shifted on the bed and pulled the sheets back on the other, empty side. "I would… really like that." She placed a hand on the uncovered spot on the bed. "You could lie here… with me, if you want." Brennan was not able to take her eyes off of him as she waited for his response.

"Uh, yeah. Good idea," he smiled nervously as he unbuttoned his coat in front of her. Instead of walking back to the hallway to hang it on a hook, he dropped it on the ground, in the corner of the room. He walked around the bed, to the free spot Brennan had offered her. He sat down and took off his shoes. With all of his clothes still on, he lifted up the sheets and got into bed. Brennan did the same, completely forgetting about her pajama pants. They both laid down, facing each other. They both closed their eyes and waited for sleep to come to them.

Brennan opened her eyes after half a minute, looking at the man next to her. It scared her, how much she felt for him and how she craved to be with him. Booth opened his eyes too and met hers. Brennan wondered if he maybe he felt it too. She opened her mouth, but found that she was unable to put everything into words. What was she trying to say again?

Booth opened his arms with an understanding smile. Brennan replied it with one of her own. Dragging her pillow towards Booth, she turned herself around and scooted closer to him so that he could spoon her. When she felt Booth's warm chest pressed against her back, Brennan let out a small gasp. It felt perfect. One of Booth's arms came up around her side and he rested his hand on her clothed stomach. Brennan looked at him over her shoulder, seeing his content smile. It pleased her to be with him like this, feeling his entire body pressed against hers in a warm embrace. Booth pressed a kiss to the back of her head before tucking her head underneath his chin.

Brennan placed her arm on top of his as they laid comfortably together. "I think you should keep that spare key. For…safety reasons."

Booth rubbed her stomach slightly. "We'll tell everyone at the lab, whenever we're ready." Brennan nodded, the hormones making her feel like she was about to cry again because she felt so happy right at that moment. She ignored the tears and allowed her body to relax against his. It took less than a minute for her to finally drift off to sleep.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: This chapter turned out way bigger than I had planned. I think that the next four days will have shorter chapters, because then I'll be on the job as the head nurse. In English, that just means long hours, little pay and many complaints from co-workers about being under-staffed. I'll try my best though, cause I HATE to disappoint. <em>

_Thanks again everybody for all your input, thoughts and compliments in your reviews! Please keep it up! I'm behind on replying already, but that will be my night work for today. Anyway, I could not ask for a better motivation than your reviews spurring me on, so: You all rock! What did you guys think of this chapter?_

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan have decided not to tell anyone at work about them yet, so Brennan turns to someone OUTSIDE of work to talk. But who is it? And just how helpful is that person? _

_Later this week: Brennan has her first antenatal appointment with her midwife! Is Booth coming with, so that he can finally set his pregnancy week-by-week calender on his computer? _


	4. Week 8, day 4

**Hiatus** by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: This chapter is a little shorter, because someone decided to die on my shift today, so I was working late for three hours. I will tell you straight up that you were ALL wrong about the mysterious person Brennan confides in today and that makes me happy, because that means I can surprise you still! Now, read on and weep(seriously…)! _

Week 8, day 4

_"I'm just a little bit caught in the middle. Life is a maze and love is a riddle." - Lenka, 'The Show' _

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><p>After a whole day of work and a whole weekend of Booth, Booth found that she really disliked coming home to an empty house today. She automatically went to the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker, before going to the hallway to hang her trench-coat on a hook. Coming back into the kitchen, Brennan remembered her caffeine restriction and turned the coffee maker off again. Maybe, she could put it away somewhere, just so that she would not get the urge to have some anyway. Brennan decided to have some tea instead, and she filled the water boiler.<p>

Holding a warm cup in one hand, Brennan got her laptop from the study and she sat down on the couch in the living room. The empty living room. Brennan was starting to feel alone, especially now that she was keeping such a huge secret from all her friends at work. She felt like she had to sensor everything she wanted to say now. It seemed like it would just be a matter of time before she was going to slip up and cause everyone to come know everything. She was isolated with something that had already become so important in her life and Booth showing up at the lab all the time with some lame excuse, was not helping. It only made her feel like she had to work harder to put on a good act.

Brennan blew at her tea as she waited for the computer to load. She wanted to talk to someone. She felt the need to vent to someone who was not Booth. Taking a small sip from her tea, Brennan wondered if maybe Sid sold soup against heart ache too.

All the people that Brennan knew outside of work were not close to her. She checked her email to see if there was a message from her dad, Russ or Gordon-Gordon sending her a recipe for a fancy pasta with eggplant . Finding none, she sighed. Who could she reach out to? She clicked on the Skype icon, to access a video chat program. She often used it for consults to colleague forensic anthropologists all over the world, but she also had a few people on there who m she was personally acquainted with. Booth was on there too, but he was not online at the moment.

"Hi!" A message popped up on her screen in bright blue letters. Brennan blinked against the contrast with the white screen as she checked out the name. 'Margaret Whitesell', her annoying cousin. Oh great, that was someone she could really do without right now. Brennan clicked the conversation away without replying and went back to her list with all her contacts.

The screen popped up again, this time it came with the request to start an instant video conversation. Brennan looked around her apartment as if she was trying to make sure that there was nobody there to barge in on them, before pressing the 'accept' button. The screen widened and a black square appeared on the top of the right side, while her own face appeared the bottom half. After a few seconds, a pale face appeared, framed by long strands of dark hair. She was looking down at whatever was lying underneath the computer's camera.

"Hey cousin," the girl with the dark hair greeted, still not looking up at the camera. Brennan smiled forcefully.

"_Second_ cousin, "she corrected. "Hi, Margaret." Brennan leaned back against the pillows on her couch and watched, as she supported her head with her hand.

Maggie waved. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Brennan lied, narrowing her eyes slightly. She could not tell anything apart in the room Maggie was in. All she saw were yellow walls and lamp, shining light on her hair from the ceiling. Brennan's background was much more busy with her kitchen and a part of book case behind her. Brennan preferred that over being so obviously centered by the camera, like Margaret.

Maggie finally looked up and frowned at her. "You don't look like you're fine."

Brennan frowned too. She had to get used again to her cousin's rudeness. Although she usually found someone who always spoke her mind very refreshing, today it just madly pissed her off. "Well, what do you want me to say?" Brennan snapped and shoved herself forward to sit on the edge of the couch. "I had sex with my partner six weeks ago and now I'm pregnant?"

Maggie's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Well, are you?"

Brennan threw her head back and bit her lip, before dropping back against her seat in defeat. She sighed, before looking straight into the camera, showing Maggie her desperate eyes. "Yes," she admitted. "Yes, I am."

"And you're not happy with it?"

"Well, yeah," was Brennan's first reaction, before thinking back of the struggle it had been to get through the day. "No," she said then, before throwing her hands up. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just not happy with the way things are right now."

Maggie thought for a while. "Your partner was that toast-and-pray guy on Christmas?"

Brennan nodded. "Yeah, it's Booth."

"Did you tell him?" Maggie asked, narrowing her eyes. Brennan looked down at her lap as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"I did. I don't think I've ever seen him this happy and cheerful before," the first genuine smile of the day made its way to Brennan's face. She was not even aware of it, as she was not looking at her computer anymore. "He's constantly asking how I am and if I need anything. He held me while I slept yesterday…but no one else at work is allowed to know at this stage, yet." Brennan's thoughts trailed off towards him again and it was somehow making her feel better. Booth was doing the best that he could, for her and the baby.

Maggie looked away again. "I don't think you should keep it," she said.

Brennan looked up with widened eyes, not understanding how she could drop such a bomb and be so casual about it. It took her a couple of seconds to regain her composure and to form a correct sentence in her head. Her mouth could only form two words: "Why not?"

"'A small leak can sink a great ship.'" Maggie quoted. Benjamin Franklin, it figured. Brennan had already been waiting for one of those.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan said, the shock of Maggie's words were evident in her voice. Her lower lip started quivering, although she had no idea why.

Maggie finally looked up again. "It means that he will be gone as soon as things get tough. You'll get heavier, you'll refuse to have sex with him or whatever and he will get sick of it and leave. Then you'll be left to take care of a child on your own."

Brennan shook her head rapidly. "No, Booth would never do that!"

Maggie shrugged her shoulders. "You say that now, as did many pregnant women before you who were abandoned in the end. 'Admiration is the daughter of ignorance'." Brennan could only sit there like a statue and listen to Maggie's words in utter disbelief. "And do you really believe that you could be such a good mother? You prefer to spend your Christmas' in El Savador, digging up dead people. Do you really think you could still do all that with a child?"

Brennan felt goose bumps appear on the naked skin of her arms. "I can adjust," she swallowed nervously. "I will adjust."

Maggie let out a small chuckle. "No, you won't. You like how your life is right now, with everybody looking up at you. You don't really want a child to slow you down. While you're on maternity leave, other scientists will continue to make progress in their work and you lose your position of being the world's best know-it-all."

Brennan started fidgeting, feeling herself turn red upon hearing all these accusations and sketches of a possible future. "I'm a forensic anthropologist," she corrected "and Booth is a good man."

"You have to think this through very carefully. It's not too late for you to take matters in your own hand and prevent your life from changing. You can have an abortion up to twelve—" Brennan reached for the laptop and closed it, effectively shutting Maggie off and finally bringing a stop to the stream of words that really started to upset her. Brennan shoved the computer away as if it were poisonous and retreated back to the corner of the couch, shaking like a leaf.

She laid back against the pillows there and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. The cup of tea remained on the small table in front of the couch, cooled and forgotten. Brennan felt her heart drop in her chest along with her blood pressure.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: I can haz cliffhanger, pleaze?<em>

_I promise I'm going to get myself to reply to all of your reviews! I ended up falling asleep yesterday night… but there is still tonight and a part of tomorrow morning before I get back to work again (let's hope I can keep the patients alive then)._

_Please review whether you like this slightly more angsty chapter, that would REALLY mean a lot to me. It's so different from the other chapters I wrote before. Since we all have our angsty days, I think it contributes to making the story more realistic. And by God…wasn't Maggie a frustrating personality on the show? _

_Tomorrow: The aftermath of Maggie's rampage. What effect does it have on Brennan (if any)? What effect will it have on her relationship with Booth (if any)? Do continue reading to find out…_


	5. Week 8, day 5

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: I LOVE LOVE all of you faithful reviewers who keep warming my heart every day after a long day of work. I am so happy that you continue to read my story. It's really late here, so I haven't had the time to spell check it at all. You have been forewarned if there are any missing, crazy or unfitting words…_

Week 8, day 5

"_Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops high above the chimney tops. That's where you'll find me." – Matthew Morrison, 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'_

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><p>When Brennan came home, she threw her bag on the ground next to the door and went straight for the bedroom. She held her breath until she reached her bed and dropped down on it. Grabbing a pillow, she pulled it tightly against her as a replacement for someone, anyone she could get a hug from. She felt confused, sad and alone. Brennan bit her lip as she felt the tears appear at the corner of her eyes and she was helpless against preventing them from falling down. She closed her eyes as she laid down on her side, sniffling her nose and willing herself to stop crying. With her legs hanging over the edge over the bed, she realized that she was kind of feeling the same way; dangling on a string, waiting for someone to put a halt to the movement around her.<p>

Time was not standing still and Brennan was not sure if she was going to be able to continue on like this. Maybe she had not thought everything through enough. Maybe she was going to have put an end to this herself, before everything would spiral even more out of control and she would drown in a lonely ocean of ignorance and despair.

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><p>Booth opened the front door of her apartment without ringing the bell first. For all he knew, she could be sleeping, because she had not been answering her cell phone again. When he noticed her bag lying next to the door, that part made sense to him. Carefully, he tiptoed across the hallway, making sure he would not disturb her, only to find her sitting on the couch in the living room. She was cradling her head in her hands.<p>

"Bones?" Booth questioned, taking quick strides towards her. Brennan looked up at him in shock as she had not heard him come in. Her cheeks were swollen and her eyes were red; she had obviously been crying. Immediately, all sorts of alarm bells started ringing inside Booth's head. Did she lose the baby? Why had she not called him? Was she okay? Did he have to take her to the emergency room?

"Booth…,"she spoke softly, way too fragile in Booth's opinion. He was already mentally preparing himself to jump up and get his car to the entrance of her apartment building as soon as she said the words… but she did not say anything anymore, which Booth thought was even more concerning.

He slowly slid down next to her on the couch. She was watching him with wide eyes, looking almost frightened. Booth cocked his head to the side. "Bones, what's going on?"

She inhaled deeply before letting the breath out shakily. She broke eye contact with Booth. "I don't think… I don't want to go through with this anymore," she admitted, clasping her hands together and tightening them so strong that her knuckles were turning white.

Booth could only sit there and listen to her. Completely taken aback by this sort of news that he had not seen coming at all, he tried to cover up his frown, but failed miserable. "What do you mean?"

Brennan shook her head and looked up at God, or the universe. Whatever place was going to help her make sense of it all and get her life back together. "I don't think we should have this baby." As soon as the words left her lips, her eyes started tearing up again and she broke down into sobs.

Booth thought real hard about a possible reason that could have brought this on and then it clicked. Booth grabbed her warm hand and leaned in to her face. "Bones? What did Sweets say to you?"

Brennan shook her head. "It's not Sweets. I spoke to Maggie, my cousin. She said it was better to get rid of the baby rather than have it, and I think she might be right. I'm not fit to be a mother," Brennan said, in between sobs. Booth never felt more like hunting someone down, buying a plane ticket to get over there and shoot someone. Just two days ago, nothing was wrong. Now, she was crying her heart out on the couch, actually considering to… No! Just no! Booth would not have it.

"Are you kidding me? Bones, you're not alone in this. You'll be a fantastic mother and I will be with you every step of the way. Do you understand that? I'm right here!" Brennan pulled her hand away from Booth's grip and wiped her eyes with the sleeves of the vest she was wearing.

She exhaled slowly, still sobbing at every thought that continued to run through her mind. "Maybe…maybe we shouldn't be together either."

Booth looked down at his abandoned hand. "W-what are you saying?"

Brennan collected herself enough to look up at him and meet his eye. "I'm going to have an abortion and I think we should just try to get back to the way before." The tears continued to fall down her eyes. Where did they all come from? Booth was only shaking his head as he got up from the couch again. "Think about it, Booth. I was a foster child! My dad is a murderer. What kind of example would I set for my child? I work with the dead to avoid the living!"

"You used to, Bones, but you're not like that anymore. You care, about the baby and about me, I know that!" He walked off to her kitchen and poured a glass of fresh water. When he came back, he handed it to her. "And I care about you. I know Maggie upset you and I know that your hormones are only making things worse at the moment, but think about it for a second, Bones. What did you feel when you first found out you were pregnant?"

Brennan thought for a while as she took a few sips of water. "I felt shocked at first," Brennan admitted, "and then I felt foolish for not having used any birth control and at last I just felt… happy."

Booth placed a hand on her shoulder blade and rested it there for a while. "See? At that time, when you were most rational, you wanted this baby and I want to have this baby with you. Bones, I'm still that guy who says that he knows. I know, we are meant to be together. I know, we will stay together for fifty years, if only you will let me." Booth looked at her with pleading eyes and Brennan could swear she felt herself go to pieces, even though that was not physically possible.

Brennan turned her head to look at the hand on her shoulder. "I know you won't leave me, I told Maggie that. Still, what if I drive you to it? So many people left me already; maybe I just chase them all away. I don't want to chase you away too, Booth. I really don't!"

Booth felt his heart swell with pride upon hearing that she had defended him against the rampage that was called Margaret Whitesell. He placed his one free hand on her other shoulder, so that he could turn her to look at him. When he saw her teary eyes, he was reminded of the night they spend together six weeks ago. The difference was that back then she was not plagued by hormones pulling tricks on her emotions. "You are right, Bones. I'm not leaving you. I won't go away, not unless you ask me to and really mean it." He raised both of his eyebrows to make himself look strict. "Alright?"

"But Booth…" She bit her lip and bend her head down. He let go of both of her shoulders. "I am serious. I can't be a mother. I don't know anything about pregnancy or parenting! I don't know what to do! I don't know who to talk to outside of work—"

"So, we'll educate ourselves. Bones, we're going to be the best parents one could ever wish for. We've been partners for seven years, no one can come between us. We're the best team imaginable."

"Booth, we both work long hours, five days a week. Sometimes my specialty is needed abroad… How can I be a good mom and a scientist at the same time?" Brennan shrugged her shoulders in desperation.

Booth searched her eyes, to look for any way in and to try and find the right thing to say, but it was nearly impossible. All he could trace was insecurity and now, even the determination to have their child removed. It scared him. "Bones, we can cut back on our hours. Many people do that when they have a kid. We can still figure things out along the way, you don't have to do this!"

Brennan took a deep breath. "Maybe I do. This baby was not planned and Margaret was right about one thing: I don't know if I'm ready to give up my life as it is right now." She pushed herself up in her seat so that she could sit down more comfortably. "I don't know if I'm ready to have a baby now."

Booth sighed, feeling like he was running into a wall. He thought in silence, of a Plan B, as Brennan continued to cry. He glanced at her one last time. "Are you sure an abortion is what you want?" He could go on and on to her, about how such a procedure could not be undone, that she would never know if and when she would ever be able to have a baby again and that it was most likely to kill his spirit along with hers. He decided against it, seeing how much she was in distress already.

"I don't know," Brennan sobbed. She did not know anything anymore at this moment.

Booth got up from the couch and placed his hand around her elbow. "Planned Parenthood requires you to take three days to make up your mind." Booth knew, because Rebecca had considered the option as well. "I only need one night." With a gentle tug, he encouraged Brennan to stand up with him. She did so, looking up at him in confusion.

"How is sex going to help me figure this out?" She asked. Booth felt the corners of his mouth trying to curve up into a smile, but he forced it down for Brennan's sake. Releasing her elbow, he raised his thumbs up to her cheeks and wiped the tears away. Brennan opened her mouth as his fingertips brushed against her skin.

Booth shook his head. "Oh, Bones. I had promised I was going to make love to you…and that I would wait until we were both absolutely certain." He dropped his hands again to rest at his own sides. "So, we're not going to do that tonight."

Brennan frowned. "Then wha—"

"I'm taking you to a happy family, with a little baby," Booth clarified, walking off to get her coat. Brennan raised up her hands in a gesture of disbelief.

"Why are you doing this?" Booth returned with her trench coat and stepped behind her, helping her put it on like a real gentleman would offer to his lady. He finally allowed a smile to creep up to his face.

"Because I know it is exactly what you need." He moved to stand in front of her allowing her to link her arm with his as they headed for the front door. "And you know that you can trust me."

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><p>Just like Brennan had expected, Booth took her to see Angela, Hodgins and Michael. It completely pissed her off. All the way up the steps, she was shooting him death glares like daggers while he kept that arrogant smile pasted on his face. He pressed the doorbell and waited, while next to him, Brennan muttered under her breath:<p>

"I don't think I like you anymore." Booth grinned back at her in such a way that really suited the word 'cocky' on his belt buckle.

"Oh, but you will. Just wait and see." Hodgins answered the door at that moment and Booth lifted his hand in an amicable greeting. "Hi Hodgins!"

The men shook hands as they smiled at each other. "Hey man! So good to see you!" His gaze shifted to Brennan, who had taken a few steps back behind Booth, feeling very awkward in this very social setting so soon after her breakdown with Booth.

"Bones and I were in the neighborhood and we thought it would be kind to stop by," Booth explained, Brennan only nodded in agreement, figuring this was his way of achieving his goal.

Hodgins opened the door further and gestured for them to come inside. "Nice, you're both very welcome here at any time. Hi, doctor Brennan," he greeted her on her way in. "Angela is lying on the sofa in the living room with Michael."

"Thanks Hodgins," Brennan replied politely, walking to the other half of the house. Booth stayed behind with Hodgins, before following him into the kitchen to fix everyone some coffee.

Brennan realized she felt more uncertain of what to do and say now than she did five days ago. She hesitantly approached Angela, who was too caught up in holding the baby that she did not hear Brennan coming in. "Hey Ange," she greeted, causing her friend to look up with a smile. She pressed a kiss on each cheek, before trailing the back of the baby's head with a single finger. "Hi Michael."

"Hi Brennan! I didn't know you were coming!" Her friend said in delight. 'Yeah, I didn't either' Brennan thought, but she swallowed the words as she sat down on a chair next to her friend.

Booth carefully watched Brennan from Hodgins' open kitchen. He was crossing his fingers for everything to work out. Behind him, Hodgins was opening cabinets and collecting coffee cups. The sound of the coffeemaker brought Booth back to attention. "Oh, Brennan isn't feeling very well. Do you have anything else for her to drink but coffee?"

Hodgins frowned and glanced passed Booth to look at Brennan, who was already involved in a busy conversation with his wife. She seemed fine to him now. "Uh, sure. I've got lemonade, water or I could make her some tea."

Booth nodded. "Tea would be fine, thanks." He turned his attention back to Brennan, watching as Angela offered her to hold baby Michael. She accepted, reaching out with her hands, but Booth noticed the look of insecurity in her eyes. Angela carefully placed the baby in her arms, before she let him go and pulled her arms back underneath the covers on the sofa.

"What's wrong with her?" Hodgins asked out of curiosity. Booth was so amazed by the sight before him that he was mentally praying to God that Hodgins would just please stop talking. He watched Brennan cradle the baby's head, everything coming very naturally with her. That's when he saw what he had been waiting for all day: A huge smile appearing on her face. Yes! Cat in the bag, baby!

He was finally able to leave Brennan alone with his eyes for a while as he turned his body to look at Hodgins. "Oh, probably just some sort of PMS thing." He could not think of anything further from the truth.

As Brennan held the baby, she could barely contain herself. She caressed the top of his head and tickled his tummy, although the baby was too young to react playfully. "Who is the cutest baby in the world? Who is the cutest? That's most definitely you! Yes, you are!" Brennan cooed.

Angela's mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh my God. Where is Brennan and what did you with her?"

Brennan looked up at her with a laugh. "He's perfect, Ange. Just look at those big blue eyes and the soft skin. He smells so good too."

Angela chuckled. "Yeah, babies are like that. It comes along with crying you awake at night and the stinky diapers." Brennan laughed, but got serious when she paused and just looked at the little warm body she had in her arms. This could be her own baby in another eight months. It could be her, lying on the couch while Booth was making coffee.

"Did you ever have any doubts, while you were pregnant?" Brennan asked.

"Ugh!" Angela exclaimed melodramatically, throwing her hands up in the air before dropping them again. "Only every other day. I was constantly stressing myself out that I wasn't ready or that Hodgins wasn't ready. He always told me that these doubts were a good thing though. That every good mother was supposed to do that."

Booth, still in the kitchen, unconsciously moved closer to the scene unfolding before her eyes. Brennan was thinking to herself, he could tell by the way her mouth was opened slightly and her eyes seemed unfocussed. Then she started smiling again as Angela spoke up again:

"When he was born, everything was just perfect and all my worries were instantly gone. I loved him immediately and that was what mattered the most."

Brennan's smiled broadened as Michael closed his eyes and started yawning. "Oh gosh, I think he's really tired." She was silent again for a second, before she whispered softly. "I would love him too."

Holding Michael made all the pieces fall back into the right places. She did want her baby. She really did want to be with Booth and she could not believe she was considering abortion just an hour ago. She wanted to be happy, just like this and did not care about all the changes she was going to have to make. The baby inside of her was just the size of two grains of rice, but it already brought so much emotion and changes inside of her.

Brennan looked up from the baby and met Booth's eyes across the room. She smiled at him, trying to convey him a telepathic message: _'I know now'._

The small curve of his lips told her that he had understood. His softened eyes told her _'I'm glad'_.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: Ugh! I don't even have the time to crack some wise comment anymore! Figures that when work is slow, personal life gets hectic! Sorry for any inconsistencies or lack of description you may have encountered in this chapter.<em>

_Thank you everyone for reviewing. I DO LOVE YOU ALL! But damn, I need much more time to reply… I could use a day off!_

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan are going out for a walk… and a talk. Will they finally be able to clear some of that awkward tension between them? Only I know, for now…_


	6. Week 8, day 6

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: My signature as a writer is already making its way to my job. Instead of signing papers with A. Hale, like I should, I wrote Allyson H. like two times today! Time to take my own hiatus… or maybe not. _

Week 8, day 6

"_Whenever I'm falling you're always behind me, come back and find me. Cause everything's easier when you're beside me, come back and find me…" –KT Tunstall, 'Throw Me a Rope'_

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><p>Booth inhaled the cool evening air deeply, as he crossed the street to the park with Brennan holding on to his arm. In his other hand, he carried a bag containing a gallon of Miso Soup from Psychic Sid. It always cured Brennan's morning sickness, but eventually the effect would wear off. Like a junkie, she had joked, she would need a new fix. So, because she enjoyed the exercise and he liked to do it with her, they decided to go for a walk and pick up some more of her medicine.<p>

Brennan noticed that he was constantly taking glances at her out of the corner of his eye. A lopsided grin was plastered all over his face and she could not exactly pinpoint the cause for it. What made things even more suspicious was that he kept looking away, every time she caught him looking at her. After the fifth time, Brennan decided to speak up about it:

"Why do you secretly keep looking at me? I know that you are, so you don't have to hide it or play pretend anymore," she confronted him with a smile. Booth turned his head, actually facing her for real this time. He squeezed his arm against his side in a friendly manner.

"Because you're beautiful," he explained "…and you're pregnant."

Brennan chuckled as she leaned her head against his shoulder. They entered the park and walked next to a stream, softly flowing beside them. "You mean you enjoy looking at my terrible skin?" It was true; Booth had noticed it too. In a matter of a few days' time, Brennan's skin had broken out into small but nevertheless very visible pimples. "I've tried to cover it up with camouflage, but I guess I failed my job."

In Booth's opinion, she could not look more gorgeous than she did right now. Maybe her hormones were starting to have an effect on him too. "Your skin is fine the way it is. I had not even seen it until you just told me right now." It was a little white lie, which he hoped she bought. He then turned more serious as he saw a woman sitting by the lake, holding a baby. It was already dark outside, but apparently there were more people like them who went out for strolls at crazy times of the day. "So how are you feeling today, Bones?"

The wind struck up and it started tugging at her hair wildly. "I'm good, Booth. Mostly because of you," she truthfully admitted. She looked past Booth and saw the woman with the baby too. "What I don't understand is… aren't you afraid? Not knowing what's going to happen except for the certainty that a huge change is coming?"

Booth tugged his hands deeper in his pockets and watched Brennan's hair as it was lit up by the street lights lining the path they were walking together. "Of course, but it doesn't matter all that much, because there is one thing in my life that I am very certain about, Bones."

"What is it?"

"It's you." He said it casually, but Brennan looked up at him in surprise, her mouth opened slightly. "I did not plan on becoming a father again, but if I am, than I'm glad I'm having it with you." He saw Brennan trying to wrap her mind around his words, but finding it rather difficult. "You are the one I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with. I'm sure of that."

Brennan paused in her walk. "Why?"

Booth brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Because of the way you make me feel. Like I'm special. Like I can take on the world."

Brennan smiled. "Well, you are special. I'm not so sure about you taking on the world though…" They continued their walk. "But I'm glad that you're the father as well." Booth smiled gently at her confession. She had already proven that she had faith in him, by defending him against Maggie, but to hear these words come straight out of her made it all even more real. "So what are you afraid of?"

Booth thought for a while before taking a deep breath. "I'm scared of maybe not doing the right thing. According to God, I should marry you—"

"I don't believe in marriage as an indicator of staying true to one's religion."

"I know you don't, Bones. I respect that, but it doesn't mean that I don't feel that way." He saw Brennan looked down and kick a small pebble ahead of them.

"Is that… going to be a problem between us?" Booth shook his head.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm willing to put aside those beliefs for you." Brennan could not help but smile upon hearing that. "Nevertheless, I'm still afraid of possibly getting struck by lightning at any given time."

Brennan raised her chin, ready to explain the scientific improbability of that, but Booth's playful eyes stopped her just in time. She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. "You're joking."

Booth nodded his head. "Yes, I am, Bones. Yes, I am." They reached a fork in the road, one path that lead them across a bridge over the stream of water and another one that took them straight to her apartment. Believing that a detour would do them both good, he steered her towards the right, pleased when it did not earn him a complaint.

An elderly coupled passed them by. Booth kindly nodded his head. Brennan enjoyed these simple gestures that he made. "I can't believe that we're going to have a baby in eight months." What she really wanted to say was that she could hardly imagine her ever being like that with Booth. Still being together after fifty years, possibly having grandchildren. Before she was with him, she did not look further into the future than a few months tops. Here she was now, planning a life of settling down with the man she admired and respected deeply.

"Yeah," Booth acknowledged, "…but we're going to be just fine." Brennan nodded in agreement. Maybe they could take on the world together. Booth stopped as soon as they were on the bridge, overlooking the water. He took a small step to stand in front of Brennan and looked her deeply into her eyes. "If you need someone to talk to, other than me, we could always ask Gordon-Gordon. I'd rather you do that than talk to any more family members."

Brennan nearly smiled, but the concerned look on his face stopped her. "He's a chef, Booth. Not a psychiatrist anymore."

"I'm sure he'd be willing to make an exception for you, if we asked him nicely. Who wouldn't want to help you out with something like this?" Booth meant it. He held Gordon-Gordon in a high esteem and was certain he would be the right go-to guy for her. Brennan shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

"I'll think about it. I still hate psychology," she reasoned. Booth wrapped an arm around her shoulders and urged her to walk on with him again. They were silent for a few seconds as they both took in the peaceful atmosphere and the scent of the plants that had started to flower. "I think I'll always talk to you first." She admitted.

Booth rubbed her upper arm gently. "Good. That's what I'm here for." Among many other things.

As they continued their trip, Brennan hesitantly placed her arm around his waist, locking them together intimately. "I uh…," she cleared her throat before continuing, "I have my first appointment with my midwife on Friday. Would you like to come with me?" She really wanted him to, but she did not want him to feel forced. He had done so much for her already, in less than a week's time.

Booth replied absolutely ecstatic: "Are you kidding me? I'd love to be there! So then we'll finally be meeting our baby for the first time, huh?" He pulled her towards him and hugged her, burying his nose in her soft hair that had gotten slightly tangled up by the strong wind. The Miso Soup poked their sides as he held her.

Brennan was slightly shocked by his overenthusiastic reaction, but she closed her eyes and enjoyed the embrace. She liked how his coat smelled so typically like him. When they pulled back, Brennan raised an eyebrow at him. "You know that it's just going to be an ultrasound, right? We won't really be meeting our baby until I give birth to it."

Booth laughed out loud, not caring about the fact that it was evening and he could possibly wake up any homeless people that had already taken their refuge in their sleeping bags in the park. "Yes, Bones, I know." She chuckled too, in that sing-song sound that Booth adored about her. They stood there for a while, just smiling at each other, finally feeling that they were back to the comfortable way they were before… except for the fact that they now have a baby on their way and a blossoming relationship.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: Can we all go 'awwww…' in <em>_stereo? One, two, three, here it goes: 'Awwww…' _

_Okay, now I'm back to replying to reviews again. To those of you with a small space left in their hearts: please, think of me for the next few days! I filed for a permanent position as a head nurse! Your thoughts might help (I'm willing to put all rationality aside for this belief)!_

_Tomorrow: Brennan's team is suspicious and thinks something is going on, but what could it possibly be?_


	7. Week 8, day 7

**Hiatus** by Ally H.

_AllyH: Terrible days at work make me hate to write about work, so I hope this chapter turned out well after all. The highlight of my day was when I received a mail from another department titled 'Mrs. V. in the mortuary', so that should tell you enough…_

Week 8, day 7

"_There's some things we don't talk about, rather do without and just hold the smile." – The Fray 'Never Say Never'_

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><p>Hodgins pressed the button on his watch and checked the numbers that flashed up at him. He then motioned for Wendell and Sweets to come and stand closer to him. They all read the time and looked at each other in confusion. Hodgins dropped his arm and shrugged his shoulders. "Now what did I tell you? Every three hours, almost down to the minute!"<p>

He was referring to Booth, who kept sneaking into the lab without greeting anyone and always went straight for Brennan's office. Dressed in his neat FBI suit, he would come in holding a brown paper bag, which did not make sense at all. If he was carrying evidence, why would he not show it to someone else of the team too? He visited the lab about two to three times each shift and it had really struck the squints as abnormal. Hodgins had decided to track the time between each stop and he was certain they could establish a pattern by now.

Sweets shook his head in concern. He had grown accustomed to Booth and Brennan being very secretive about their relationship and shared activities, but that was strange, even for them. Brennan would normally make eye contact with the people around her and Booth would usually threaten to shoot anyone who would get in his way, rather than avoid them. It was easy to put two and two together. "Something is wrong with Doctor Brennan," he concluded.

Wendell looked up at him with a disbelieving look. "You think? Have you seen her skin? It's like she's thirteen all over again!" He exclaimed. When this statement earned him two questioning looks, Wendell opened his mouth and turned his attention to the floor. "But eh…with a full-grown body."

"I think Booth might be bringing her medicine." Sweets suggested, following Booth towards Brennan's office with his eyes. His back was straight and his eyes were shifting around the area nervously, almost as if was carrying something dangerous with him.

Wendell scratched the back of his head and frowned. "For her acne?"

"Gentlemen!"

They all turned around to see Cam slide her keycard through the lock to access the platform which they were all standing on. She approached them and tried to act surprised when she found out they were not surrounding an autopsy table. The truth was that she had been listening in on their conversation down below and she wanted to learn more. "Where's doctor Brennan?" She questioned nevertheless.

"She's in her office with Booth. Again." Hodgins enlightened her. Cam paused in her stride towards them to look at the corner behind the platform. Through the glass of Brennan's office, she could see her sitting behind her desk. Booth was standing in front of it and he was looking at her with a tight jaw. Thank God, were they at each other again? She had almost missed that for the past few weeks in which they had acted so kind towards each other that they might as well have just been strangers meeting on the street.

"Oh no," Cam said exasperated, finally findin her excuse to barge into Brennan's office. "I'm not paying her for all these private sessions." She folded her arms together and hurried her way over to the other side of the platform. She was going to investigate. She really wanted to learn what was going on. Right about now.

Sweets called after her: "Be careful with what you say to her! Doctor Brennan might find herself in a very delicate situation right now!"

* * *

><p>It was most definitely a delicate situation. Brennan liked Booth's presence, but she was becoming increasingly annoyed with him bringing her food every few hours. Not only did it make her feel like she was a little child, but he always picked extremely healthy food like yoghurt with fruit. She was fine with having fruit, but she wanted it with goddamned peanut butter or chocolate, not with whatever the hell Booth's literature told her that she should have.<p>

With a desperate sigh, Brennan gathered the courage to look up from the lunch bag and up at Booth. "Whatever is in there, I don't want it."

Booth frowned in surprise and his jaw tightened unconsciously. "Why not? You don't even know what it is." He opened the bag to take its contents out. "I've got you a cheese sandwich with cucumber and tomato, an orange and an energy bar with raisins." Booth grabbed a chair that was facing the couch in her office and pulled it up so that he could sit in front of her. He fought the urge to cup her cheek, which she had once again tried to cover up with a foundation. Everything about her was cute, in his opinion.

Brennan leaned back against her chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm very grateful, but what I really need is a slice of pizza." Booth could not help but smile at her honest confession. He tried to shield it by covering his mouth with his hand. "Booth, I've given up alcohol, skipping breakfasts and coffee even. I need something else to indulge sometimes. I don't want yoghurt, I want pickles with maple syrup."

Booth chuckled and placed his lower arms on her desk. He leaned in towards her. In defiance, she did not move a single inch anymore. "Sour cravings usually don't start kicking in until the second trimester."

Now it was Brennan's turn to frown as she leaned in to him too. "I'm not kicking anything."

"What's going on?" Booth and Brennan simultaneously looked towards the door, where Cam was leaning against the doorpost.

"Nothing," Brennan replied instinctively, shoving her desk chair away, to create some distance between her and Booth. Booth shook his head in agreement.

Cam narrowed her eyes. "Oh come on, how stupid do you guys think I am? Booth has been coming in every three hours for the past week. What's going on?" Booth and Brennan glanced at each other in concern. "And don't even start with some lame excuse about the case, because even when we had multiple bodies at once, you guys didn't retreat like you were a married couple." Brennan avoided Cam's eye and looked down, opening her mouth slightly in a gesture of extreme nervousness, which Cam picked up on immediately. "Oh my God, please tell me you didn't get married."

"No!" They both replied at the same time.

"We're not even having sex," Brennan felt the need to clarify. Cam raised both of her eyebrows in amusement ." Booth looked up at her with widened eyes. Maybe it was the foundation, but she was not even blushing as she lied about the whole cause of Booth's frequent presence at the lab.

Booth could almost feel Camille's eyes burning a hole into the back of his head so he spoke up quickly before his lovely Bones would do more damage than good at this point. "Brennan is on a crazy diet, because she thinks she needs to lose weight and I'm just here making sure that she eats. Surprise, surprise, she doesn't want it," Booth gestured at the food that he had just laid out for her on her desk. Well, at least not everything was a lie.

It was Brennan's turn to look at Booth in shock, which Cam mistook as shock because he just told her secret to her boss. Now that Cam knew the private truth which Booth had blurted out with the tact of a caveman, she no longer felt the desire to be here any longer. "Well, doctor Brennan, you are not fat and you need to eat. Seeley, good luck with that." Cam nearly leapt out of the room. Why did 'witnessing embarrassing personal situations of fellow employees' not come up in the job description? She would have thought twice about wanting to be a boss.

As soon as Cam left the room, Brennan lips tensed into a narrow, straight line as she smacked Booth on his arm. "Ouch!" Booth grabbed his arm as he looked up at her angry face. "What the hell, Bones?" He rubbed the spot to sooth the stinging. He knew she was capable of breaking arms like tooth sticks, so he guessed he got away rather lucky.

"Why did you say that I was stupid? I am in fact highly intelligent! I would never sabotage my diet like that!" Not on purpose, anyway. She forgot about her meals like Booth forgot about dusting off the photo frames that hung up high above his front door; it happened all the time.

"I didn't say you were stupid," Booth smiled gently at her, trying to put out the angry fire that he saw blazing in her eyes, with his own friendly ones. "I just…modified your problem a little bit."

* * *

><p>Cam walked back to the men that were still standing on the same spot on the platform as before she had left them. She looked somewhat startled and she was glad that there were people here who she could talk to about it. Hopefully, they could make sense of all the stuff that she could not.<p>

She placed her hands on both of her hips and took a deep breath. "Apparently, Brennan is on some kind of starvation diet and Booth is making her eat." Wow, that sounded even worse than when Booth told her. Hodgins and looked up in surprise, while Sweets just threw a concerned look towards her office. Wendell covered his mouth with both of his hands and took a surprised step back. His eyes looked absolutely terrified.

"Oh my God!" He exclaimed, making all three heads turn towards him. Wendell shook his head, barely being able to believe it himself. Sweets raised an eyebrow at him. Wendell dropped his hands and spoke in a lower voice. "I think this problem is even more serious than that. I walked into her office a couple of days ago and I forgot to knock. I found her puking her guts out in her trash bin. She said she just drank some milk that was past its date, but…"

Sweets nodded his head. "That is very serious."

Hodgins stared ahead of himself as he thought for a minutes. He shifted his weight from one feet to another as he turned his attention back to the group after a minute. "I had such a weird experience with them too! They showed up at my doorstep unexpectedly two days ago to see Angela and the baby. Booth seemed very insistent upon her holding the baby. Almost like he wanted her to realize what she could be giving up. Since losing weight can lead to infertility…"

"Wait," Sweets stopped him. "You think Booth knows more about her situation?"

Hodgins nodded his head. "Yes."

Cam shook her head in disagreement. "No. No, no, no, doctor Brennan is not the kind of person to develop an eating disorder."

"Actually, doctor Brennan is perfect for developing an eating disorder," Sweets explained. "It's not about the losing weight as much as it is about taking control of ones' life. Doctor Brennan was a foster kid and had no control over where she would live and who would raise her. She is in love with agent Booth, but cannot take control of these feelings. Then he started dating Hannah, while in the lab more people hooked up with their significant others… She may have felt like her own life spiraled out of control and therefore she starting using food as a method to regain some of that control. It's quite common."

Cam furrowed her eyebrows. "But Booth is single now."

Sweets nodded. "Yes, and he is now trying to take control of her eating. It's very noble and admirable, but it could also make things worse." They all looked into her office where Booth had finally managed to get to start nibbling on a sandwich. "And her bad skin… it could be a symptom of bulimia."

Wendell shuffled his feet nervously, thinking of a way how to phrase the next question without offending the woman in this group. "But if she chose to lose weight in such a radical way, shouldn't she be… you know, more skinny now?"

Hodgins clicked his tongue. "When was the last time you saw her without a lab coat, or a trench coat or a sweater?" That instantly brought an idea to his head. "Hey, what if we ask them out on Saturday night? She can't wear a sweater to a night club!"

Sweets lifted one fist up in the sky. "Good idea, I'm in too." Wendell and Cam agreed to go too and with that, the first opportunity to observe Brennan, her weight and her diet was born. As Cam, Wendell and Hodgins both continued with their work, Sweets took another look at Brennan over his shoulder. Even through the office glass, he could tell that she looked very tired. She had slightly darker circles around her eyes than the color of her normal skin and it had him very worried…

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: I've had some trouble writing this chapter because I'm quite tired myself. Still, I was proud I at least wrote something. How perfect would I be to join the NaNoWriMo? <em>

_THANK YOU FOR THE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS! Please don't give up doing so, because today, I had a conflict with the current head nurse who is leaving. Even though I've been temping for her as a head nurse since the end of January, she said that she did not believe I would get the permanent position as a head nurse, because I'm too young (22) and therefore inexperienced in a leadership position. She completely pissed me and the head nurse's assistant off with that remark today. So now, I'm more determined than ever to prove her wrong. In short, I'm still going to need your thoughts every day until next week at least! If I do end up getting the position, I shall reward your kind hearts accordingly!_

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan have their first appointment with a midwife (to those who asked, it will all be explained tomorrow). Will everything be okay with Brennan and the baby? On a scale of 1-10 how ecstatic will Booth be?_


	8. Week 9, day 1

**Hiatus** by Ally H.

_AllyH: Happy one week anniversary for this story! Time passes by so quick! Thank you to everyone who has been following this story daily and leaving the kindest comments so that I stay motivated to continue doing this. I'm sending out virtual hugs your way. _

_To everyone not interested in nursing/midwifery 101, I suggest you skip to a just a few paragraphs before the end of this chapter._

Week 9, day 1

"_You take more than just my sanity. You take my reason not to care." – Sara Bareilles, 'One Sweet Love'_

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><p>"Oh my God," Booth said, making Brennan roll her eyes because he was becoming repetitious. "I never knew we would end up at a place like this. I always figured we would just go to a hospital." Booth looked around him in wonder. This so-called 'birthing center' that Brennan had chosen to go to was like a fancy house. There was nothing here to remind him that women were screaming bloody murder here while they were pushing out a baby. This was just a home with hotel suites and private kitchens. The walls were painted in different warm colors and the floors were covered with a dark shade of plywood. There were plants decorating the room, easy chairs and paintings on the walls. The stack of magazines that was neatly placed on a coffee table between them, were actually up-to-date.<p>

Brennan could not help the smile as Booth got up from his chair and looked over to the secretary sitting at a broad desk. Behind her were two examination rooms and a break room for the staff that worked here. She was typing quickly on a keyboard, her eyes fixed on the computer screen in front of her. It was the only thing that reminded Booth that they did not come here to order a cup of coffee.

Booth sat back down in his chair, a furnished one, not like those metal chairs that always killed his back at a hospital. He turned his head to see Brennan, supporting her head with her hand, her elbow resting on the arm of her chair. "Hey," he placed a hand around her wrist supportively. "Are you nervous?"

Brennan glanced up at him and blinked her eyes. "Yeah. I've never been through this before and I'm scared of course, that something might be wrong with the fetus."

Booth did not like the term 'fetus'. He was already considering it to be a baby; _their_ baby. Still, her active thought that something could be wrong concerned him. "Why? Do you think something could be wrong?"

She shrugged her shoulders and raised her pale blue eyes to meet his directly. "Something could always be wrong, Booth." Booth let go of her wrist so he could place his hand on her back. He rubbed her gently, in a soothing motion. If it had not been for that damned table sitting between them, he would have pulled her against his body. He understood her fears, but he wanted to take them all way from her and make her feel better.

"Everything is going to be just fine, Bones. Just wait and see… and let me hold your hand."

"Miss Brennan?" Someone called her name from behind the secretary. Booth and Brennan got up from their chairs simultaneously and walked over to her. Brennan secretly leaned into him and grabbed his hand as they did. Booth smiled, laced his fingers through hers and gave her a small squeeze, trying to reassure her. The woman opened a door to an examination room and stepped aside, allowing them to pass her and enter the room. As soon as they were inside, she closed the door behind her and smiled at the couple.

"Hi, you two are new here. I'll introduce myself first; I'm Analeigh Daniels, one of the nurse-midwifes here," Brennan felt a little awkward shaking her hand. The woman in front of her could not have passed the age of thirty. She had her white blonde hair tucked into a playful ponytail on the back of her head. Her eyes were a very light green and even though Brennan could tell that she did her best to act like a tranquil personality, Brennan was not sure about her amount of experience.

Booth did not seem to share that worry as he let go of her hand to shake hers with a smile. "Seeley Booth, nice to meet you." He greeted her politely. "I'm the father."

Analeigh nodded her head with a smile. "It's nice meeting you too! You can take a seat right over there." She gestured to two chairs standing in front of a desk next to a window. Booth led Brennan towards it by wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Analeigh first went to gather some things from the cabinets, before she sat down in front of them. She had a computer to her right, which she ignored at the moment. She rested her lower arms on the desk and slightly bend forward to Booth and Brennan.

"I believe this is your first pregnancy, right?" she questioned, looking from Brennan to Booth and then back.

Brennan nodded, for some reason feeling very uncomfortable by the attention of Analeigh and Booth's eyes on her. She hid her hands in her lap, but when Booth reached out to grab one with his own, she took his gratefully. "Yes, I've never been pregnant before. This is the first time I'm here." Booth stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. Brennan smiled up at him nervously.

Analeigh looked at a paper in front of her, which was a letter that Brennan's general practitioner had send to her. "Okay," she said, once she had quickly scanned through the information. "Do you want me to tell you about midwifery and this birthing center first, so that you can get a better idea of what is going on here?"

Brennan nodded. "Please."

"Alright. I am a certified nurse-midwife, which means that I'm a nurse as well as a midwife. What I do is provide care for women with normal low-risk pregnancy and support them from their first appointment here until a few weeks after the baby is born. I collaborate with the two obstetricians in this center in case any complications may arise, but basically I will help you deliver this baby on my own in a very natural way. I will use my hands, but no needles or scalpels.

"You will see me on your scheduled appointments and I will set up the birthing plan with you. An obstetrician can't stay with you during childbirth, because he has other patients to attend to, but I will stay with you continuously. Basically, if there's anything you ever need or just want to ask, you can always come to me. You can even call me during the night if a situation arises," Analeigh grabbed a card from a holder in front of her computer and she handed it to Brennan, who was still looking a little overwhelmed.

"As a midwife, I can give you advise on healthy living, birthing classes, order tests and thanks to some extra training, I can also do ultrasounds. If there's anything that I don't trust completely, I will always call in one of the obstetricians, so you will be in excellent hands here."

Booth winked at Brennan, trying to show her that he felt confident about this place and their midwives. Brennan was not completely reassured yet. She still thought that Analeigh looked rather young and inexperienced.

"At this center, we work with six midwifes in total. We don't take more than three patients each around the same due date, to avoid that women enter labor at the same time and one of them will have to go without their midwife. We have two obstetricians; one of them is always on call. They are here very frequently. In the worst case scenario, they can decide to send you to the hospital, but then I will still come and stay with you."

Brennan bit her lip. There was so much information. So much that could go wrong. She almost started questioning herself again if she was really ready to go through with this. Maybe if she had waited a little longer with getting pregnant, she would have had more time to learn about everything. Analeigh noticed the glazed look in Brennan's eyes and decided to stop bombarding her with more information for a while. "I know that you must be scared. I was too, before I had my daughter two months ago."

Booth and Brennan both looked up at her at that time. Such a young girl just had a baby? Brennan lowered her eyes to Analeigh's midsection. She was telling the truth; her gait had shifted. Brennan had not noticed that before, but this new knowledge instantly made her feel better. "Did everything go well with her?" Brennan asked, hoping for a positive answer that would finally get her to relax.

Analeigh beamed at her, before taking a photo frame from the window sill and handing it to Brennan. "It sure did! This is Florine, my daughter, about a week old." The picture showed a young baby, dressed in a pink pajama suit, her mouth opened into a tired yawn. Her tiny hand had wrapped itself around someone's finger next to her head.

Brennan handed Booth the picture in awe. "D-did you have your baby here?"

Analeigh shook her head as she laughed. "No, because I would have felt weird being naked in front of my colleagues," she joked. "…so I went to the competition for that one. This is my first week back at work and as you can tell, I'm just fine." Brennan had to agree. Analeigh looked cheerful with shiny hair and healthy eyes. She was wearing jeans and a light grey shirt that showed off her slim tummy; her baby belly had disappeared completely.

Brennan looked back up to her face. "What did you do whenever you got scared?"

"I either called colleagues and have them tell happy stories or I would Google the cutest baby pictures and print them, so I would be reminded it was all worth it. From my personal experience and my professional expertise, I can tell you that it is all worth it." When Analeigh noticed Brennan straightening her back and smiling at her partner with more confidence, she could not help but smile with them. "Shall I tell you more about this place?"

"Yes," Brennan replied.

"Since this is a birthing center, after all, we have five suites with a king sized bed, a large bath and a separate kitchen with a microwave and a refrigerator. You can stay here with your boyfriend and other family you may have when you've gone into labor. When you're hungry, you can get something to eat or you can both sit and relax on the couch, watch some television. Almost anything is possible," Analeigh explained. Booth smiled. He had already looked inside one when they had come through the front door and one door had been left open.

"The advantage of staying here is that we have an obstetrician close by and some equipment. You may also chose to give birth at your own place. In that case, I will come over as soon as you call me and I will help you there. The disadvantage of giving birth with the help of a midwife is that we don't have the fantastic pain medication that hospitals do. I can't give you an epidural, but I could run you a nice and warm bath and help you from there."

Booth and Brennan looked at each other. They had not yet discussed any of that. "Can we get back to you on that on our next appointment?" Booth asked, leaning back into his chair.

"Sure, that's no problem at all. Do you have any questions so far?" Booth and Brennan both shook their head. "Alright, then I guess I shall tell you about what is going to happen today. First, I'm going to ask you some questions about your medical history and your pregnancy so far. Then I will measure your weight and height, check your blood pressure and draw some blood. I'm also going to need a urine sample and then finally, I will do a vaginal ultrasound."

"Wow, vaginal ultrasound? Why vaginal? I thought they always just ran over your belly with one of these ultrasound wands?" As soon as Booth had heard the word, he became squeamish again. Even after what happened between them, that still had not changed. Brennan was happy with that; Booth was still Booth.

Analeigh laid out some papers in front of her. "Because in this early stage, it will get me better pictures, because I'll be closer to the uterus this way." She answered. Brennan raised her eye brow at him in mock humor, Booth replied by giving her hand a tighter squeeze. "Okay, you've already filled in your address and date of birth, you are not married and you have a four star insurance policy?"

"Yes," Brennan confirmed. "That's all correct."

"Okay, then we'll move on with the medical question. I need you to answer them too, mister Booth. Do you or anyone in your family have a history of heart conditions." They both shook their heads. "Diabetes?" That was a 'no' again. "Cancer?" They hesitated.

"I had a brain tumor two years ago," Booth answered, watching Brennan trying to swallow the lump of emotion that the memory brought back to her. He pulled her hand up to his lips and pressed a quick kiss on it. "I had surgery and I'm completely healed now."

Analeigh watched him in surprise. "Gosh, that must have been hard on you both."

"It was." Brennan nodded. "What's the next question?" She tried to move on quickly, so she would not get the time to dwell on the subject even more. She had been terrified for Booth's health at that time. She never wanted to think about it again. The thought of never being able to see him, talk to him or feel him was devastating.

"Do you or anyone in your family have a history of cystic fibrosis or any other lung condition?" They shook their heads again. "Miss Brennan, have you had any asthma attacks in your past?"

"No," she confirmed. "I was very healthy."

Booth looked at her in amusement. "You _are_ healthy, now that I'm looking after you." Brennan frowned and shook her head in disagreement. She was perfect at looking after herself, thank you very much. He was just being overprotective.

Analeigh chuckled. "Well, let's see, shall we?" She took another sheet of paper. "Miss Brennan, do you smoke?"

"No."

"Do drugs?"

"No."

"Drink alcohol?"

"Not anymore."

"Caffeine?"

"I wish," she said, glancing at Booth out of the corner of her eye. He was smiling at her in content. He knew how much she used to love her coffee in the morning.

"How many meals do you eat a day?"

"Six!" Booth cut in. "Six small meals. I make sure she eats all her fruit and veggies and gets enough fiber in her food. She is a vegetarian though…"

Analeigh scribbled some words down on the paper and looked back up at them. "Sounds pretty healthy to me! Now, the questions about your pregnancy… Do you know the exact date when your last period started?" Analeigh turned to the computer now.

Booth made a small mental note, so that he could finally update his pregnancy calendar on his computer when they got home. Brennan thought for a few seconds. "March 24th, I believe." She was surprised not to find Booth fidgeting on his seat this time. What was it about sex or sex organs that caused him to be so embarrassed, usually?

Analeigh entered the number into the computer. "Did you have normal, consistent twenty-eight day cycles?" Brennan nodded. "Good. After the ultrasound, I'll be able to calculate a due date. How are you doing now? Do you have any pain or bleeding?"

Brennan shook her head. "None, whatsoever. Except for the morning sickness and really sensitive breasts, I feel very well." Booth's eyes automatically drifted to her chest. They had definitely gotten more fuller. When Analeigh spoke up again, he quickly looked away.

"That's very common in this stage of your pregnancy. The hormones are doing their work and still trying to settle in. Do you experience any discomfort during sex?" She asked the question without any shame, but Booth on the other hand, felt the heat creep up his cheeks again.

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "We haven't tried it yet, ever since I got pregnant." Of course, Brennan had no problems talking about this delicate subject either. Booth looked at the women in confusion. What was it about sex or sex organs that they thought it always needed to be discussed? They were called 'private parts' for a reason!

Analeigh leaned back in her seat, visibly surprised. "Oh, any significant reason for that? You can talk about that to me too, you know." Oh dear God, she was the female sweets…with a baby daughter. Booth shook his head. Was it time to wrap up this appointment yet?

Brennan pointed at him with her thumb. "Not for me, but Booth—"

"No." Booth replied quickly. "Absolutely no reason."

Analeigh cocked her head to the side. "I'll just tell you this: you don't have to be afraid about the baby. You can't hurt it, alright?" Booth just kept his mouth shut tight.

"Booth gets very nervous when talking about sex. It's normal," Brennan just enlightened a complete stranger. Booth felt like hiding underneath his chair and he would have done so, if it did not make him look like a child.

"Okay. I know all I need to know now. Now that you're still sitting, I'd like to draw some blood to determine your blood type, the iron level in your blood and test if you are immune to German measles. The latter is an illness that could be really dangerous during pregnancy." Analeigh got up from the chair and walked over to the cabinets, where she had collected the items.

Brennan looked at Booth and exhaled deeply. "Are you scared of needles?" He asked her in concern. She shook her head bravely. It was not the sting she was scared of, but she just disliked this room a lot. Whereas the rest of the mansion was a place destined to make families feel at home, this was just a clinical examination room with white walls, curtains for privacy and an examination table along with its probing equipment. Brennan disliked anything that reminded her of a hospital.

Analeigh came back, holding a syringe with a needle and a couple of empty vials in her hand. With her foot, she dragged a low stool on wheels with her. Preparing a gauze with a plaster, Analeigh placed it down on the desk in front of Brennan, who had already started to roll up her sleeves. Analeigh sat down next to her. Booth watched her in fascination .

Analeigh tied off her arm with a green ribbon that she tightened with a clasp. She asked Brennan to make a fist with her hand, before she tested a vein on the inside of Brennan's elbow by tapping on it with her fingers. She then placed the needle right below it, at a curved angle. "Are you ready?" Brennan nodded and Analeigh quickly pushed the needle through her skin. Analeigh attached a vial and it quickly filled itself with Brennan's blood.

"Good job," she said, loosening the tie. "You can relax your hand now." After taking another vial, Analeigh took a non-sterile gauze and folded it against Brennan's elbow. She quickly took the needle out and pressed the gauze against the wound.

"I'll hold it," Brennan offered, pressing her fingers down next to Analeigh's, who nodded gratefully. While she got rid of the needle and labeled the vials of blood, Brennan smiled at Booth reassuringly. He pinched the bridge of her nose as a sign of affection, earning him a light chuckle and another smile.

"Thank you," Brennan whispered. "For being here." She was so caught up in looking at him that she barely registered Analeigh taking the gauze from her and putting a small one on with a plaster.

"It's my pleasure," he said, and he really meant it.

* * *

><p>Analeigh had measured Brennan's height – 5 foot 9 – and jotted down her weight, which was 132 pounds. Analeigh calculated her body mass index, which was good, indicating that Brennan's weight was healthy for someone with her height. Her blood pressure was slightly elevated with a 150 over 101, as opposed to the 140 over 100 that bordered normal values. Brennan contributed it to the anxiety of coming here for the first time.<p>

Brennan had gone to the bathroom and provided Analeigh with a urine sample. She had then gone back to sitting beside Booth. She was getting tired again and she wanted to do nothing more than rest her head on his shoulder.

Analeigh was leaning against the cabinets as she dipped a strip of chemicals inside Brennan's urine. The strip changed colors and Analeigh examined it carefully. "There are no protein in your urine, so that indicates that your elevated blood pressure is not yet a problem. I will keep a close watch on you though," she said, with her eyes narrowed. Brennan smiled.

Analeigh disposed of the container with urine and washed her hands. After drying them with paper towels, she turned herself back to Brennan. "Miss Brennan, you may now come over here to the examination table and undress yourself from the waist down." Analeigh pulled the curtain around the table to give her the privacy she needed and then placed a paper sheet on the table. From the cabinets, she pulled a thin blue blanket. "You can cover yourself with this sheet and lie down."

Booth felt very uncomfortable once again. He looked at Brennan with a rather nervous expression. "I guess I'll eh...stare outside the window until you're ready, okay?"

Brennan nodded. He had only seen her naked once. This was not the time nor the place to celebrate that second experience. As she hid behind the curtain and unzipped her jeans, Analeigh had set herself to the task of preparing the equipment. She had put on a white nursing coat and pulled a computer over to the table. She put some gloves on, before she prepared the ultrasound wand with putting a condom over it and some gel.

When Brennan had taken off her underwear too, she grabbed the sheet and held it in front of herself as she laid down on the table. "You can put your feet into these holders, Miss Brennan." Analeigh gestured to the stirrup at the end of the table. Brennan did as she was told, raising her legs and bending her knees. Analeigh fixed the sheet on top of her so that she was covered as much as she could be.

Brennan sighed deeply before looking at the curtain. "Booth, I'm ready." She heard his footsteps approach her and his shadow appear on the curtain. "Really, Booth. I'm…presentable." She had to admit that she was just as nervous as he was, lying here like with her legs spread, with a man in the room whom she really cared about. She wanted him to keep her in the highest esteem, but she felt rather cheap like this, even though she knew that it was no rational thought.

Booth opened the curtain slightly and smiled when he saw her. She had her hands placed on top of her stomach, so he decided he would do what he had promised her he would do. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, thinking that would be the only way to make her feel less self-conscious.

Analeigh sat down on her stool with wheels again and turned on the monitor. A black screen appeared, before Analeigh entered some information into the system. "Let's hope it works this time!" Analeigh said, moving the monitor so that the three of them could all see. "Miss Brennan, you may feel some pressure when I place the transducer inside your vagina, but I'll be really careful okay?"

"Hm-hm," Brennan nodded at Analeigh, before lying her head down and taking a deep breath. Booth looked at her face as Analeigh got to work. He noticed her wince in discomfort for a few seconds before she relaxed her face again. As Analeigh moved the wand around in her pelvic area, Brennan grinned up at Booth. "Now look what you make me go through!"

Booth raised his eyebrows at her playfully. "I told you we should have just gone to a hospital instead."

Analeigh smiled. "They would probably just do the same , but tear you open in the process," she joked. "I'm a very nice midwife." Booth and Brennan glanced at each other with a smile. "I think we got it…right there." Analeigh said. All of them turned to look at the screen. Analeigh pressed a button and a quick pulsing sound could be heard. "There is your babies heartbeat," she introduced.

Brennan's mouth opened in shock at the first sensory sign of life she had ever heard from inside of her. She looked down at her flat stomach and then at Booth who was staring at the screen with the biggest smile of his face she had ever seen. The heartbeat sounded like music to him and Brennan felt him shift closer to her as if that would help him get closer to their baby. It was Brennan who squeezed his hand this time. He lifted her hand up and pressed it tightly against his chest, right above his heart.

"The black blob you see over here, in the middle is the uterus," Analeigh pointed to the screen. "That whitish line you see around there is the uterine lining, which looks really good. The ovaries are to the side, they look nice and clean." Analeigh shifted downwards, changing the view. "And that comma-shaped matter down there, resting in the uterus, is your kidney bean."

Brennan felt Booth hold his breath as they both saw it. It was tiny, but visible. There was most definitely something growing inside of her.

"That flashing that you see, is the fluttering of the heartbeat, which you can already hear." Analeigh explained, in the mean while hitting some buttons to take measurements.

"Oh my God, Bones!" Booth exclaimed. Without any thinking, he bend his head down and kissed her full on the lips. It was more than just a quick peck, but just when Brennan's brain could register what was going on, he had already retreated again. "Look what we have created! It's a miracle. It really is!"

Analeigh smiled, but raised her eyebrow upon hearing him call her 'Bones'. This was the fun part of her job; the excitement of parents, that moment of uninhibited passion at seeing something that they had put there in an act of love.

Brennan touched her lips in shock, like she wanted to make sure that she really had felt it correctly and feel if his warmth still lingered there. She looked back at the screen where she once again saw the small soon-to-become baby. It looked so fragile and yet so safe, tucked away inside her. All she knew at that moment was that she was going to have to protect it. She would maintain Booth's ridiculously healthy lifestyle all nine months if that was what it takes. At this moment, she wanted this baby so badly that she nearly felt her entire body quake with love for it.

"I'll make a few prints for your refrigerator. He or she is doing fine," Analeigh suggested, as Booth and Brennan turned to look at each other. They laughed openly, finally, sure that whatever they were going to be facing, they could put it off together and it would be totally worth it.

Brennan redressed, as Analeigh cleaned everything up and handed Booth the pictures. He was over-the-moon ecstatic as Analeigh once again pointed out the different shades in them. "You should see them in another ten weeks. They will be much more telling," she told him.

Booth chuckled. "I don't think I can wait that long."

Brennan reappeared when she pulled the curtain to the side. She looked at Booth and Analeigh with a smile, but also with a face of relief. She felt glad to know that nothing was wrong. Before finding out that she was pregnant, she still skipped meals, slept little and did not think about her own health much. She was willing to change that now. "So?" she said, straightening her back and reaching for the dolphin necklace that she was wearing, fingering the metal nervously. "How far along am I?"

Analeigh glanced at her notes and the computer. "According to my measurements and calculations, you are now nine weeks and one day along. Your due date is on the twenty-ninth of December. Who knows, maybe you'll have a new year's or a Christmas baby."

Brennan felt like hugging the girl. Booth was wearing a grin from ear-to-ear too. Nothing could ruin their days anymore. "I can't thank you enough for everything. You really are good."

Analeigh nodded her head, shaking her blonde hair with her. "You're very welcome. I'd like to see you back in three weeks, to do another scan and check for anomalies and recheck your blood pressure and urine. I will call you in between to ask how you are doing and to schedule the appointment, okay?"

"Very much okay," Brennan replied.

Booth shook Analeigh's hand. "I really appreciated your time and patience. Thank you."

"No problem. Don't forget, you can call me at any time, I'll be there!"

* * *

><p>"I really hope our baby will turn out as beautiful as Florine. Did you see how lovely she was? Perfect skin, a few light hairs exactly like Analeigh and that tiny little hand with five small fingers? That's what I would like for us too, Booth," Brennan mused as she and Booth walked through a park again. They had parked Booth's car on a distance from the birthing center, so that they would have the chance to talk afterwards. Booth had offered to take her to dinner, but Brennan preferred to eat at home after such an exhausting day.<p>

She admitted, her life had turned upside-down in a week. Or maybe it had been just her emotions? First she wanted to have this baby, than she did not and now she felt like could not be more sure of something in her life. She felt glad that her current state of mind was reflected on Booth's face. Her arm was linked through his as she laid her head against his shoulder, not minding the fact that their walking shook her a little.

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, Bones, but neither one of us is blonde. So that is most likely not going to happen," Booth said, feeling like his face would split if he would try to smile even more. Life for now was just perfect.

"There is a slight chance, but hair color doesn't really matter. I would love our child, just because it's ours, Booth. It doesn't need to be beautiful necessarily, but Florine was so very cute…" Brennan smiled, thinking back to the picture. That was what their future could be like.

"How old would Analeigh be anyway? Thirty-five? " Booth suggested. Brennan raised her head up to throw him a look of disbelief.

"No way. Much, much younger. Twenty-six tops." She made an estimated guess, considering that she did not have a de-fleshed skull to tell her.

"That can't be, Bones. She just had a baby daughter!"

"Booth, you can have kids at age fourteen too! That doesn't say anything! No, considering that she has a degree and is a certified nurse-midwife—"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you can have all that at age thirty-five too, Bones." She rolled her eyes at him, before they both chuckled. They then fell silent for a few seconds as they just walked on, bathed in the afterglow of everything they had just witnessed.

"So," Brennan started, hesitantly. "You kissed me today."

Booth could have expected that she would be bringing that up. He inhaled deeply and thought rapidly. "Yeah, about that, Bones. I'm really sorry. It was just the heat of the moment and—"

He was caught off by Brennan pulling his head down towards her and brushing her lips against his. Both of their eyes closed on the impact and Brennan leaned in more, shifting her body so she could fit against him better. She used more pressure to force his lips apart so that she could finally taste him again, after she had to do without for so long.

When Booth's astonishment finally wore off, he reached his hands up to cradle both of her cheeks as he fought with her to slant his mouth over hers, time and time again. He gasped when he felt her tongue trace his bottom lip and she took advantage of the situation by invading his mouth with tongue, catching him by surprise.

She pressed him tighter against her by unconsciously wrapping both of her arms around his neck. When his tongue started fighting back with hers, she felt a comfortable warmth spreading in her lower belly and the kiss quickly became more heated. Their lips brushed, their noses bumped, their tongues battled and their breathing became ragged.

The sound of a car blowing its horn in the distance, suddenly made them realize where they were and they broke apart quickly. Booth's thumbs still lingered on her cheeks as he looked around them to see if anybody just saw them necking like teenagers in the bike stand at school. This was a very public place and he had almost lost control completely. He looked down at her, noticing her kiss bruised lips and darkened eyes. She had been there right on the edge with him too.

Her lips curved up into a smile as they both tried to catch their breath again. He dropped one hand to her shoulder blade and urged her to take one step closer, so that he could wrap both of his arms around her. She allowed him to, but just continued to look at him as they held each other this closely.

"Wow…," Booth commented, finally getting the control back over his own breathing. "That was unexpected…"

Bones shook her head. "No," she said. "It really wasn't." She stood up on her tiptoes to peck him on the lips one more time. She lingered against his lips just a few seconds longer than needed, before she stepped back again and took hold of his arm. With an accomplished smile on both of their faces, they continued their walk to the car.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: So, haven't we been taught a lot in this chapter? They're kidney bean baby is doing good! Some of you have wondered, but now you know, there is only ONE heartbeat. Or is there…?<em>

_Thank you everyone for all your motivation and uplifting reviews! I'm going to kick the head nurse's ass, even if I don't get the job. I should be able to do it with so many great spirits out there, thinking of me. _

_This was one HUGE chapter, but I couldn't let myself skip all the nursing examinations, of course. Big kisses for everyone who worked their way through it. _

_Tomorrow: Brennan and Booth are going out with the team. How will it go? Will the team finally be able to put two and two together or are they going to continue barking up the wrong tree? I already know! And I like it… _


	9. Week 9, day 2

**Hiatus**

_AllyH's note: Thank you for your nice responses on the previous chapter! I was very self-conscious about it, but I'm glad so many of you were really interested! And I personally laughed while writing about the team's misinterpretations of Brennan's problem, so it did me a lot of good to read that you guys did too! Here's part two…_

Week 9, day 2

"_To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven." – The Byrds, 'Turn, Turn, Turn'_

* * *

><p>Brennan brushed her hair for the last time and checked her make-up in the mirror. She really was not sure about going out tonight and act like nothing was going on between her and Booth. Her stomach was feeling a bit queasy too, so she probably could not enjoy whatever activity they had planned. Putting the brush down, she sighed in frustration. Sometimes she wished pregnancy was easier. She could handle a growing belly, but the exhaustion and morning sickness were a whole other story. She looked up at the sonogram picture that Booth had taped to the mirror for her and she smiled sadly. This was just a phase. Analeigh had showed her yesterday that it was all worth it in the end.<p>

"Bones?" There was a knock on the bathroom door as Booth tapped his knuckles against it from the other side. "Are you okay in there? I'm getting a little worried about you." Brennan checked the time on the clock. She had been in here for quite a while. Unlocking the door, she opened it to reveal Booth, standing there in casual brown pants and a light shirt. Even when he was not neatly dressed up in his FBI uniform, he still looked good. He frowned when he looked at Brennan. "You know I always say that you would look good in a potato sack, right? And I mean it, but don't you think that dress is a little too big for you?"

Brennan had put on a simple black dress with long sleeves, but it hung around her like one of her lab coats. She had carefully made sure that it did not hug her figure anywhere and her cleavage was very moderate. She wore her hair down and had put on a dark eye shadow that brought out her light blue eyes. The lip gloss was a light pink and made her look slightly younger. She looked down at her body and shrugged her shoulder. "Well, I had to make sure I wore something that wouldn't reveal anything," she reminded him.

Booth cocked his head to the side and place a hand on his hip. "But you're not even showing yet! If we can't see anything, they won't either," he argued.

Brennan shook her head and looked back up at him. "Booth, I had to buy a bigger bra today. _Some things _definitely are showing." She grabbed her necklace from the jewelry case and reached behind her neck to fasten it.

Booth motioned for her to turn around as he stepped closer. "Let me help you with that." She turned her back towards him and Booth raised his hands up to take the jewelry from her. She could almost feel his breath on her neck as he fixed the ends together. "You are very beautiful, either way ."

Brennan turned back to him, wearing that playful glint in her eye that Booth had learned to be very cautious of. "As a man, you should think so. Do you want to see them without this dress on?" She teased. Booth gulped and took a step back. "Or touch them, maybe?" She approached him again, minimalizing the distance between them. She enjoyed the effect she could have on him with her seductive remarks.

Booth's mouth had suddenly become very dry and he swallowed nervously as he focused to look at something else but her for the time being. "That's just great. How about I go and leave this room instead and warm you some Miso Soup before we go, huh? I can tell by the way you've unconsciously been rubbing your left side that you are not been feeling too well right now."

Brennan smiled and turned her head away. This man noticed every little thing about her. As he walked away, she decided it was best if she took the lipgloss with her, since the miso soup would probably take some of it off. Without really paying attention, she reached for the tube that she had put down on the wash basin…and then cut her right hand.

"Ouch!" Retreating her hand to her body immediately, she carefully examined the wound. She had cut herself across the knuckles with a razor blade that she had left lying around. Reaching for her medicine cabinet to take out a Band-Aid, she realized that these were the things Booth meant when he told her she had to be more careful. She shook her head, feeling rather foolish.

* * *

><p>Brennan was grateful when they had decided to go to a jazz club. There were tables on one side of the room, while the other half was cleared, so that people could dance. There was a small stage where someone was sitting behind a piano, singing songs that did not make Brennan's head pound. There was little light in the club, but enough for everyone to see each other. They were all sitting around a table, much to Brennan's satisfaction. Her feet had been killing her. High heels had never been so uncomfortable before.<p>

Except for Brennan, they had all ordered a small meal and a beverage. Brennan was not hungry anymore, after she had all her six meals today and some miso soup before they left home. She would have enjoyed a glass of wine, but had ordered a mineral water instead. Her health was very important to her now. She raked a hand through her hair as she looked over her shoulder to the singer on the stage. Even though anything with drums would kick-start a head ache, she still preferred the more upbeat music over slow piano plays.

"Oh, I'm so glad we solved that Gerritsen case yesterday. That's what I call the real TGIF," Wendell remarked. Brennan turned back to be able to join the conversation… or not. Yesterday, they had wrapped up a case of a woman who had washed ashore. In spare parts. They were able to trace the murder back to a surgeon, because some marks on her bones matched his equipment. Apparently, it had just been a surgery gone wrong at first, but he had decided to dispose of the body because he was under investigation already and was scared to lose his license. His intern was shaking like a leaf when he admitted the truth.

Hodgins placed his glass of wine back on the table with a grin on his face. "Yeah, although we never managed to collect all the bone fragments. I wonder how long it will take for the rest to come up too. Can you imagine taking your kid to the beach and have him come back to you waving a tibia?" Angela was still recovering from child birth, so she stayed home with baby Michael.

Cam shook her head. "That's just gross."

Brennan smirked. "You can, apparently." He had just reminded her to never go and take a walk with her child there. She glanced at Booth and could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

"Doctor Brennan, wouldn't you like to order something? There's vegetarian stuff on the menu too," Wendell suggested. Sweets kicked him under the table. Before Booth and Brennan had arrived, he had spoken to the team about positive reinforcement. Brennan was obviously going through a dark period in her life right now and they had to do whatever they could to make her feel better about herself. He had set an example by complimenting her on her dress, even though it was obviously way too big on her. Eating was a very sensitive subject to her right now.

Brennan shook her head. "I already ate at home."

Booth nodded his head in agreement. "She did." He confirmed, thinking it would probably reassure them. None of them seemed convinced however, because Hodgins started to press on:

"There are some small dishes on here too," he said, collecting the menu from the holder on the table. "There is cheese, a small portion of French fries…"

Cam leaned forward, bending slightly over the table so she could take a better look at Brennan. "Or maybe a salad? That's very healthy." Brennan frowned in confusion. She had just said she did not want anything, why was everyone questioning her ability to make these decisions for herself?

Hodgins raised his hand up in the air. "A-ha! They have a basket with bread rolls and garlic butter. It might give you a spicy breath, but it's so good. It's all homemade." Sweets looked at everyone at the table in surprise. Had they completely forgotten his strict recommendation to lay off the food subject with her?

Wendell nodded. "And of course they have ice cream too…"

Brennan had had enough. She slammed both of her hands on the table as she pressed her lips against each other in anger. "Didn't you just listen to what I said? I ate at home and I don't want anything now. I have a glass of water and that is enough." Booth watched her in concern. If they would not leave her alone now, this could end badly.

Cam took on an equally concerned expression. "Doctor Brennan, we are just looking out for you."

"And you really don't need to!" Brennan snapped. "I'm perfectly capable of determining whether or not I should eat. So leave me alone!" Booth reached out for her arm, trying to calm her down, but it was already way too late. She slapped his hand away. "You too!" She got up from her chair and took her purse, before making her way to the woman's bathroom.

Hodgins' eyes were widened with shock at the scene that just took place. "Wow! Mood swings, much?" Now it was Booth's turn to be afraid. Of course, Hodgins would recognize mood swings whenever he saw one. Angela had been pregnant still, a little over a week ago. The secret was out now!

Sweets frowned in a way that really fit him as a therapist. "Her blood sugar is probably really low."

Cam nodded in agreement. "You're probably right. I'll go check on her." Cam got up from her chair too and disappeared to the other side of the dark room, forcing herself through the mass of dancing couples on the floor. Booth sighed as he watched her go. That should have been his responsibility.

* * *

><p>In the woman's bathroom, Brennan was fuming. She yanked her purse open and took out an unlabeled bottle of pills. She had completely forgotten to take her folic acid today. She knew how important it was to take them, because studies had proven that taking it every day during pregnancy could improve heart health and lessen the chance of birth defects considerably. She quickly took the cap off and shook two pills onto her hand. She then grabbed the water bottle she luckily carried with her everywhere…and then Cam barged into the room.<p>

Looking at Brennan's wild eyes and the pills that she was holding in her hand, her brain clicked quickly. "Oh my God, are you taking diet pills?"

Brennan frowned and lowered her eyes to her hand. "Yes," she said, "that is exactly what they are." Booth and his smart mouthed lie. By the time they are ready to tell everyone, they will be thinking that she has completely lost her mind and they will not even believe her that she is pregnant because of her supposed weight obsession. She put the pills in her mouth, uncapped the water bottle and drank them down.

Cam, in the meanwhile, did not know what to do or say as she witnessed her colleague poisoning her body right in front of her. Did she just have to let it go? Or take them by force and pour them down one of the toilets here? So instead, she just decided to do something that was safe for them both; she was going to educate her. "You do know how dangerous these things are, right? They don't make you lose weight, they just drain water from your body. You could become severely dehydrated!"

Brennan, having lost all her patience of the day in a matter of fifteen minutes, shrugged her shoulders and closed the bottles before throwing them back in her purse. "It's alright. I'm alright, okay? Only three more weeks and then it's over. I won't have to take them anymore." Brennan was glad that she was able to speak the truth about something, after all. Folic acid would prove no further advantages to her from her second trimester onwards.

Of course, Cam took this in a completely different way. She desperately took a few steps towards her, wondering if maybe she could shake some sense into her. "How much weight will you have lost by then, exactly?"

Cam's eyes were boring directly into hers and for the first time, Brennan actually felt threatened by it. Sensing she could find no other way out, she decided to flee. "I'm not discussing this with you." She grabbed her purse and walked past Cam and out into the hall again. If she had said anything else, she was bound to give a wrong answer. She suddenly felt very guilty and bend her head in shame, until she felt a hands on either of her shoulders, pushing her backwards into a corner in between coat stands.

"Bones," the man called out as he guided her to stand against a wall. Their view was blocked by coats, vests and bags hanging on both sides of them. Brennan leaned back against the wall behind her, feeling very exhausted all of a sudden. "How can I help?"

Just the sight of Booth and the worried expression on her face was enough to calm her down again. Damn him. He could not always stick around her whenever she was having a breakdown. She was going to have to learn how to get herself together again too. She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing, I guess. I'm sorry." She really was. She wished she could go back in time and then she would have asked them to back off, nicely. "I don't have any control over my emotions."

Booth exhaled audibly and wrapped his arms around her. Brennan accepted his hug gratefully. "You can't help these hormones, baby, I understand. It's very normal." He pulled back and watched her carefully. "Do you want to go home? You look very tired."

"No, I want to go back and apologize to everybody. They meant well." She ran her hand from his back to his chest. She felt her heart beat against her hand and it felt nice to be this close to him and to be able to touch him like this. "And maybe afterwards, you could dance with me, before we go home." She suggested it rather nervously. They had danced at her old class reunion, but never as a real couple. Even though she was tired, she wanted to experience what that would be like.

Booth smiled. "I would like that." She stepped away from him and straightened her dress. "Off we go." He grabbed her hand and headed back inside.

* * *

><p>Cam had walked back to the group and sat back down with a sigh. The three men looked up at her expectantly. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. "She just admitted that she is taking diet pills. I caught her swallow them in the bathroom. I asked her how much weight she wanted to lose, but she wouldn't tell me."<p>

The news hit them like a bomb and they were all quiet for a while as they digested this new piece of information. Hodgins rubbed the bridge of his nose and frowned. He had no experience with eating disorders whatsoever. Maybe he should talk to Angela. Her best friend could probably talk some sense into her.

Wendell gestured at Brennan's trench coat, which Booth had hooked around her chair. "I don't want to be mean or anything, but what's up with that dress? Was she ever able to fit into that? The thing is huge!" He made a circle with his arms for further emphasis.

Sweets shook his head. "She is trying to cover up her body. She doesn't want us to see how much weight she's lost. If this continues to go on, we might have to do an intervention on her. She could make herself really sick with this. She could possibly even die." Wendell and Hodgins glanced at each other in concern.

Cam folded her arms in front of her chest. "Then we'd better think of something soon." She quickly held quiet when Booth and Brennan reappeared. Brennan was staring at the ground as she hung her purse back on her chair.

She licked her lips nervously as she turned her attention to the team in front of her. Booth stood beside her, as her mental support. "I just wanted to tell you all that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have exploded like that." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, not wanting to hide behind anything. "I do appreciate your concern, especially yours, Cam, but you really don't have to worry. Booth feeds me six times a day. He can confirm that, if you like."

"It's true," Booth admitted. "She usually eats it all too. I made her soup before we left, so that is a valid reason why she did not feel like having something now." They all nodded, but none of them felt comforted by it.

Brennan broke the uncomfortable silence again. "Now, I'd really like to dance with Booth."

"Have fun." Sweets waved as they walked off together. He bend forward and raised his right hand above the table. "Did you see the Band-Aid on the knuckles of her right hand? These are wounds from her teeth. They dig into her knuckles when she pushes her fingers down her throat." He showed them by raising his own knuckles up to her teeth.

Cam was absolutely stunned. How could her best employee have gotten so sick without her noticing before?

* * *

><p>Booth stretched out his arms and allowed Brennan to step as close to him as she wanted. She placed one hand on his shoulder and grasped his free hand with the other. Booth supported her shoulder blade with his other hand and started to lightly sway her to the music. The girl on stage was singing about someone running around and leaving scars, so the lyrics were not all romantic, but the atmosphere felt relaxed enough.<p>

Brennan followed his moves and looked over his shoulder for a few seconds, before finally giving in to the urge she had ever since they got here. She leaned in towards him and placed her head against his chest as he continued to shuffle with her, very slow. This was it, she thought, she could always find peace in his arms.

"Booth?" She asked after a while. He replied her with a gentle caress over her shoulder blade. "Do you think Cam could be taking your lie about my diet a little bit too serious? She was questioning me about my weight in the bathroom."

Booth chuckled. "No way, Bones. Cam is very smart and even if she had any doubts, the rest of the team would set her straight. You are not someone to lose control of yourself like that."

Brennan inhaled his scent deeply and was almost wishing they were back home, so that she could use him as a pillow as they laid down on the couch. "I know." She banished all the ridiculous concerns that she had and just allowed herself to enjoy the moment with him. She never would have believed that they would come to this half a year ago, but now that they were, she realized how much she had longed for this. The time that they had taken, surely was not wasted.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's notes: Yes, I was evil enough to only make their suspicions worse. Don't blame me, Brennan and Booth want to keep this a secret so badly. Me, I'd probably freak out too much and I would not even be able to verse the word 'pregnant' until somewhere in my third trimester. That's why they are having a baby and I'm not.<em>

_To those who might be interested, I'm on Twitter now! You can find me there as AllysonHale. Now I have something else to distract me from work, haha! I'd love to meet you, fellow Bones and Booth/Brennan fans!_

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan spend an evening at home together. So what do you when you find yourself alone with your ridiculous good-looking partner? Get drunk (on tea)? Watch the news on television? Play Scrabble? Oh, the endless possibilities… _


	10. Week 9, day 3

**Hiatus**

_AllyH's Note: Tenth chapter already? How many of you are still here from the beginning? Anyway, I'd like to 'give something back' to you for all the endless support and compliments. Read my note below for my idea. _

Week 9, day 3

_"Take your hesitance and your self defense. Leave them behind; it's only life." - Kate Voegele, 'It's Only Life'_

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><p>Booth had showed up at her doorstep in the early evening, carrying an overnight bag and a single daffodil in his hand. Brennan had watched the sight in surprise. Booth held out the flower to his with a kind half smile and she was so touched by the gesture that she did not know what to say or do at that moment. When she had not moved or spoken after ten seconds, Booth raised his hand and carefully let the petals of the daffodil kiss her cheek. Brennan chuckled and accepted the flower from him. "Thanks, Booth."<p>

"You're welcome." His smile widened. "Hi."

Brennan mirrored his smile and pulled her hands back to her chest, resting the daffodil against her chest. "Hey." Booth took a step towards her and bend his head down to kiss her. Brennan's eyes closed on her own account as his lips touched hers. Just when she opened her mouth to let him deepen the kiss, he broke away from her and entered her apartment. Brennan blinked a few times in confusion, before the smile returned to her face and she closed the door. He was going to spend the night at her place tonight. He was probably trying to avoid that their evening together would _start_ with them getting into bed together.

Brennan walked into her kitchen and found herself a small vase. Filling it with water, she placed the daffodil inside it and carried it back to her living room and set it on the table in front of her couch. It was perfect. It was a bright yellow, like the rays of the sun had painted it itself. It was the color that would always remind her of Booth; warm and welcoming.

Booth, in the meanwhile, had gotten rid of his coat and stepped inside her living room with both of his hand in his pockets. "Shall I get you something to drink, Bones?" Even though this was her place, in the past few days, they spent so much time together that she allowed Booth to act like this was his home too. It certainly made things easy, because she did not have to treat him like a guest anymore, offering him wine and assorted nuts.

Brennan straightened her back and flipped her loose hair back over her shoulders. "I would love some tea, please." Booth disappeared again. "Oh, I bought you a new bottle of scotch, from that ridiculous brand that you like." He was into a label that showed the face of an old man. It was called 'Ye Ole Scotch', which Brennan thought was enough reason to not buy it at all. That's not how words were spelled these days.

"Thank you!" Booth called from the kitchen. He came back after a few minutes, carrying a glass and a steaming mug. Brennan had set herself down on the couch and made herself comfortable with a pillow cushioning her back. She thanked him when he handed her the drink. Lemon tea, she could tell by its color. Surely, after this pregnancy is over, she would not be drinking it for a long time anymore. Tea only substituted coffee – and alcohol – for so far.

He sat down beside her and clinked his glass against her mug. As they both took a sip from their drinks, Brennan looked around her apartment and then turned her attention back to Booth. "Do you want to do something? Watch a movie? I have a TV now."

Booth placed his glass down on the table and shook his head. "No. I'd like to play a game with you. Though, good for you for getting that TV. Maybe we can watch sports after." He laughed.

Brennan frowned before shaking her head in disagreement. "No, Booth! I'm terrible at playing games!" He should know that by now! "I can't read poker faces or answer questions with inaccurate answers. Portraying things or sentences with my head is a stop-go with me either."

"No-go, Bones," Booth corrected, before he raised his eyebrows in a playful expression. "It's not that kind of game."

Brennan's face relaxed and she felt the corners of her mouth curve upwards. "Oh, is it more of a physical kind of game? I'm in excellent shape, so I could possibly take you down." Was that meant as encouragement or a warning?

Now it was Booth's turn to frown and shake his head. "What? No, Bones! You're pregnant, so you are in no shape at all to participate in any kind of dangerous activities." He got up from the couch and walked to his overnight bag in the hallway. He took out a purple box and brought it back with him to the living room.

Brennan watched him in curiosity. Had they not passed the age of playing board games already? She shifted to the edge of her seat as Booth took out two piles of cards and a handful of blue and pink chips. He gathered two block notes and pens from the box and handed one of each to Brennan. What the hell was he up to? "Where did you get this?" She asked, noticing a yellow library sticker on the lid of the box.

Booth chuckled just thinking back about it. "Parker brought it with him. He thought it would be fun to play it with me, but it turned out it was a little bit too adult for him. I thought it was more suitable…for me to play it with you." He explained. He could tell that Brennan was completely confused. "It's like truth or dare, but with a little extra and minus the dare."

"I really don't know what that means." Brennan admitted. The game was called 'Him/Her vs. Her/Him'. The tag line underneath read: 'get to know who your real friends are'. The picture showed four people surrounding a table and laughing out loud. She could not imagine herself being that uninhibited.

Booth shoved one pile of cards over to her side. They were all colored in the same purple as the box of the game, except for the extra yellow stars that had been added to them. "On these cards, there are questions about anything. Personality, political views, relationships, whatever. We each take turns reading one of these questions out loud. The person who reads the question, writes down the answer on the paper and keeps it quiet. The other person has to write down what he thinks that the reader wrote down about herself. When correct, the guesser earns a chip and in the end, the one with the most chips wins."

Brennan let out a soft giggle. "That is a really silly game. Sweets would love this though."

"Just try and make an effort, okay? You'll enjoy this. There are plenty of chances for you to embarrass me and for me to show you just how well I know you, Bones. You can start by drawing a card."

Brennan opened her mouth to protest, but then took a card anyway. She looked at Booth first, before hesitantly reading what was on it: "What is the most useless gadget in your home?" Her eyes met Booth's again. "So now I'm supposed to write my answer down and you are supposed to guess mine?"

Booth nodded. "Yes, and I know the answer to it already." They both grabbed their pens and wrote something down on the paper. When either of them had finished scribbling, Booth cocked his head to the side. "Ready? One, two, three…" They turned their papers synchronized in time and showed each other the answers.

"My rice cooker. I don't like rice all that much. I never use the appliance," Brennan defended. She squinted to read Booth's answer.

"That bowl with fake apples you've got over there in your window sill, doing nothing but collecting dust." Booth replied. "That is the most useless thing you've got around here, I thought."

Brennan laughed and threw her hands up in frustration. "Although that is not what I wrote down, I do believe you are right. I hadn't thought of these apples, yet."

"Oh yeah!" Booth exclaimed, raising a fist in the air. "Score one for team Booth! Now, it's my turn." Booth leaned towards his own pile of cards and took one. "How would you propose to your significant other?" Brennan hung her head in defeat. Dear lord, Booth was very romantic-hearted. There were a thousand of possible ways he would be able to do it.

Thinking of the most logical way, she jotted it down on her paper and waited for Booth to finish. "Ready? Show me."

They each studies their answers and started laughing again. "I wrote down that I would get down on one knee and ask." Booth realized that it was not the way he did it with Hannah, but in this case, with Bones, he would do his absolute best to make the experience worth remembering. Knowing that she was not the marrying type, he decided to refrain from doing so.

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "I wrote down that you would just ask."

Booth clapped his hands together. "That's only half of what I wrote. So you'll only get half a chip, Bones. I'm on the lead, baby!"

Brennan shook her head in disagreement. "That's not fair, Booth! You could have added a restaurant and music and candlelight, I still got the most important part right. I deserve a whole chip." She argued, just making him laugh even more. Playing this game with her had been a great idea.

"Fine, you can have a whole one. Now, it's your turn again. Go on, reveal something scary." He reached forward and squeezed her knee gently.

Brennan bit her lip as she took another card and read it out loud. "What body part are you most ashamed of?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked at Booth questioningly.

"Definitely not a suitable game for Parker, I told you."

She grinned before she wrote down her answer. It struck Booth how little she had to think about that answer. It worried a part of him, but it also gave away the answer. "Done?" Booth nodded as he put down his pen. They showed each other their paper and smiled, rather sadly upon finding out that they both wrote down the exact same answer.

"Your tummy, which is perfect, by the way. You cover it up all the time, but there really is no need," Booth tried to reassure her.

Brennan put down her paper and sighed. "Thank you." They were silent for a very short period. "Now, can we get back to you?" Booth nodded and grabbed a card. As soon as he read it to himself, he raised the pile of cards and placed the card back in between them. Without any comment, he grabbed another card. Brennan straightened her back. "Hey, that's not fair! What was the question?" She demanded to know.

Booth shook his head and pretended to zip his mouth with his fingers. "No, Bones. It was a very inappropriate question about sex. It does not bare repeating…" Without thinking any further, Brennan threw herself at Booth, pushing him back onto the couch on his back. Straddling his hips, by pinning him down between her knees, she placed her hands on either of his shoulders and towered over him. Her hair fell to the side of her face like a curtain as she looked down at his widened eyes.

"What did it say?" When he replied her with nothing but a silly grin, she laid down on top of him, pressing her upper body against him in an uncomfortable hold. Booth gasped. "Come on, say it." She pressed a wet kiss on his neck, while trailing one hand down his arm and taking the stolen card away from him. "You better answer, before this gets really out of hand."

Booth groaned and tried to shift underneath her. Sensing that she would not budge at all, he decided to give in: "Are you a boob or an ass-person? That was the question."

Brennan stopped wrestling him and paused as she looked him in the eye. "So what would your answer have been?"

Booth was afraid this would happen. He sighed, but he could not look away from her as he came clean. "Right now, I'd have to say I'm definitely more of a breast-man." Brennan smiled, before she let herself fall forward completely, pressing her lips against his forcefully. They both closed her eyes as she forced his lips apart by opening her mouth against him and started nipping on his bottom lip. Booth responded to the kiss by wrapping his arms around her back and pulling his head back so he could kiss her back on the lips more fully. For a few seconds, they only pressed their mouths against each other, crushing their lips in the process, brushing them against each other in a heated battle. When Brennan pulled his hand – the one which had held the card before - up to her chest, their previous game was completely forgotten.

Booth cupped her breast in his hand, but was too occupied kissing Brennan to notice how full it was now. He licked her teeth with his tongue and she let her own tongue sneak out to wrap it around his. Brennan's free hand slid down his chest, feeling the strong muscles that ran underneath his shirt. When she let out a small moan of arousal, Booth pulled her flush against him as he sat up on the couch again, all the while, never breaking his kiss with her. He carefully shifted them, so that he could lay her down on her back and be on top. His other hand ran up her side to cup her other neglected breast and she arched up against him, pressing their hips together impatiently.

She moved her hands back up his torso again until she reached the top buttons of it. As he felt her unbutton the fabric, he stopped all ministrations to her and broke apart. He straightened his back and looked down at her face. Her hair was all over the arm of the couch and she looked rather flushed, with rosy cheeks and reddened lips. She was breathing hard and so was he.

He shifted a little further away from her, disentangling them. "I can't stay tonight," he managed to rasp out.

Brennan licked her bottom lip, enticing him to continue with his previous ministrations. "Why not?" She did her best to look very innocent, cocking her head to the side and dropping her hands to her stomach.

Booth leaned forwards again, propping himself up on an elbow beside her. He sighed as he caught a strand of her hair and let it slide between his fingers. "Because, if I do, we're going to have sex."

Brennan shifted so that she could sit up now too. "But we're ready," she breathed, not able to suppress the need she felt for him right now. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to pull him back towards her, but she only got to peck his lips before his hand wrapped around her wrists and stopped her.

"Almost, Bones, but not yet," he told her. She looked back at him in confusion. If she did not know any better, he seemed to be scared of getting her pregnant. "I don't want to rush this." He let go of her and casually leaned back to the other side of the couch. "Let's go back to playing this amusing game and stick with PG-13 questions, alright?"

He set himself to the task of organizing the questions on the card as Brennan watched him with a predatory smile. She was not going to give up that easy and wait much longer. She had just found herself a new mission: unchaining the Booth that she _knew_ was inside him somewhere.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: Oh, what a delay! I was singing in Germany thi<em>_s evening. I hope none of you suffered permanent ear-damage. On a lighter note, tomorrow I'll just be back, metaphorically cage-fighting with the head nurse, so you will get the update BEFORE it reaches midnight in the Netherlands._

_So, to reward you guys with all your compassion and support, I'm thinking of actually giving you the chance to let me incorporate your thoughts, every tenth chapter. BUT, you have to give it to me in a theme. Use any words or names that you find interesting such as twins, bulimia(in case you like the confusion that's been going on), Angela, Analeigh… but not entire sentences like 'B&B go to Analeigh and find out they are having twins'. Feel free to challenge me with crazy words and see how I can work around it (25cts, potato, dementia, whatever comes to your mind). I love challenges and doing 'different' things, so try me. I'll pick my first theme for tomorrow's chapter and I'll credit my choice accordingly._

_Fun, no? Give me your theme in a review, or hit me up on Twitter: AllysonHale . _

_So tomorrow: whatever you can come up with and I can work into a realistic and chronologic chapter! _

_Further this week: Brennan faints, in a very unfortunate place. What's wrong with her? How will people around her respond? _


	11. Week 9, day 4

**Hiatus**

_AllyH's Note: Okay, so I picked some themes for this chapter. I wish I could've used them all, because you've been so creative and I've been laughing at all the possibilities. Thank you for sending them in! Let me know how you liked this improv chapter. I've used these themes below._

_youlaysolow's jealousy AND Hannah – because I just love strong emotions_

_Dr. AllieCameron's nail polish remover – because it got me thinking who in the world would use it_

_Indigo Nights' Leonardo DiCaprio – honestly, how could you have expected me to resist?_

_TheLadyBlackDove200's meter man – because I had no idea whatever the hell it was before Googling_

_raineorshine's bicker – because I DO want to stay true to the characters_

_DaLiza's defenestrate – after finding out the meaning of the word, I've been wanting to do it myself all day! (Off you go, head nurse!)_

_WhatHurtsMeMost – I'm tempted to write a separate story using your last two options. I couldn't fit them here yet, but you DO get a shout-out for making me laugh. Out loud._

Week 9, day 4

"_Time may change me, but you can't trace time."- Butterfly Boucher & David Bowie, 'Changes'_

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><p>"Why are you so upset?" Booth asked after minutes, in which she had barely been responding to his questions. She was sitting next to him in his car, leaning against the door with her elbow. She looked displeased and she was purposely trying to make him feel it. As he drove, she only replied to him in one syllable words or with a shrug of her shoulders. Was there such a thing as Brennan knowing the definition to 'giving one the cold shoulder'?<p>

They had been off to a brilliant start already. Booth did not want to take her with him to the crime scene, for the obvious reason that she was pregnant. Naturally, she started arguing about how so many pregnant women still did their jobs on a daily basis and he could not leave her at the lab without making a scene or complying. He chose the latter, for both of their sakes. "Are you still mad because I was just looking out for you?"

Brennan shook her head. "No. Although that was ridiculous too." She continued to stare straight ahead again.

Booth took a deep breath and held it for a while. Her mood swings were very sudden and seemed dependent on the weather sometimes. Yesterday evening, they had a great time together and now he felt like he had a lot of work to do to fix whatever the hell had pissed her off in the first place. "Come on, Bones. You've been abducted, assaulted and even shot at a crime scene. Can't you see why I find it a bit difficult to expose you to that danger now? Even when you're not pregnant, it's a huge risk that I take, every time that I bring you along."

Brennan just shrugged her shoulders again and said nothing. Oh, she could be so infuriating at times! He knew that this mood was all part of her adjusting to these hormones, but it certainly did not mean that he would have to like it. "So, if that's not the problem, than what is?"

She turned her head and showed her icy blue eyes, looking very stern. "I am sick of you talking about making love and waiting to have sex with me. We already slept together once. I don't see what could be your problem with it now!" Booth swallowed nervously, before turning his attention back to traffic.

They were approaching the crime scene and he was looking for a place to park, somewhere where he could have a chance to speak to her. Not that there was a good time or a place to talk to her about something like this. She had already given up on getting an answer from him and had gotten back to ignoring him. Booth pulled into a parking place right next to an apartment building and shut down the car's engine. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned in his seat to get a good look at her. She glanced at him sideways before continuing to stare ahead through the windscreen. "Bones, I want to wait, because it's the right thing to do! This won't be us comforting each other, like the previous night. This time we'll be together romantically…"

She frowned as her lower lip quivered. "Well, you wasted no time in claiming Hannah against a tree after you saved her." She unbuckled her seatbelt too and nearly threw the door to the passenger's side open as she jumped out and slammed it shut. Booth was still sitting in his car, staring at her back dumbfounded, until she started walking away from him.

Booth quickly got out of his car and locked it behind him as he ran after her. "Bones! Hey, Bones! Stay with me here!"

"Booth, a meter man was killed by a bottle of nail polish remover that was defenestrated. I'd say it's highly unlikely that the same disaster twice in the same place," Booth quickly caught up with her though, but she refused to slow down her pace. "What made this so federal anyway?"

"The meter man was a federal agent working undercover." He grabbed her by the elbow and whirled her back around so that she was forced to look at him. "Bones…" He started, watching confusion and anger cross her face. She was probably deciding in her head whether or not she should slap him, when someone else called out to him from afar.

"Agent Booth!" They both turned and saw a young man approach them. He jogged towards them and shook hands with them both.

"Detective Preston. Talk to us," Booth requested as they followed him to the crime scene tape. Around the block from where Booth had parked his car, a crowd had formed on the sidewalk, all looking down at the ground. Cars that drove by were slowing down, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had caused such an audience. A large square had formed right next to the apartment building. One window was open, the curtains pushing and pulling along with the wind.

The officer stopped a few feet away from the crowd and opened his note block. "We got a call at seven this morning. Someone heard a scream from further up this street, ran right over to find this one lying here. An empty bottle of nail polish remover was found next to the body. The flesh on the face and arms and legs has been completely burned away to the bone. No one reported seeing someone else on the street at that time. The window above the man's body was open, possibly the bottle's contents were poured down from there and onto the guy's head. Or maybe it was thrown out… The cap of the bottle has not been found on the scene and the tenant of the apartment is not at home at the moment."

Booth and Brennan looked at each other in mutual astonishment. Brennan straightened her back. "Nail polish remover usually consists of acetone. Even though it's inflammable, it doesn't burn the skin off. Either he was set on fire or whatever was in that bottle was a different substance than acetone." Brennan enlightened them, making both men frown.

Booth raised up his hands. "Why would someone keep nail polish remover that is not _really_ nail polish remover?"

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "I don't do why's. I just examine the bones, you know that." Detective Preston raised an eyebrow at Brennan's obvious stab under water. Booth did not seemed that bothered by it, much to his surprise.

"So what other substances could it be then, huh? Flesh-eating water?" He chuckled at his own joke and placed both hands on his hips.

Brennan shook her head and furrowed her brows together. "There's no such thing." Their eyes met and it became very obvious to Booth that the air had not yet been cleared between them. It was hard to tell whether she was hurt or just angry, but it was definitely an issue that he needed to address with her soon.

"Alright. Let's just go and take a look at the body first, okay?" He once again grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her towards the scene. What was it today? Keep-Your-Partner-On-A-Leash-Day? It seriously annoyed the hell out of Brennan and as Booth dragged her through the crowd of bystanders and allowed her to pass under the yellow crime scene tape, she smacked his hand. Hard. "Oh!" Booth shook his hand off, but made no further comment on it.

Brennan paused as soon as she was in the cleared area. Booth, reading her body language and seeing her tightened jaw open in shock, immediately understood something was wrong. He looked over to the body and realized what caused the change in Brennan. There was a smell about it. It was definitely not acetone, neither was it the smell of fire. This body had been dozed with some sort of chemical.

Not thinking for a minute, Booth reached towards her and covered her mouth and nose with the sleeve of his FBI uniform and used his other free arm to wrap it around her lower back. "Let's get you out of here," he said, as calmly as possible. She did not even struggle this time as he led her back from the scene. The people behind the tape parted as they allowed them to pass through, not knowing what was going on.

Detective Preston walked over to them with a concerned look. Booth dropped his sleeve from Brennan's face as soon as they had gotten away, but nevertheless steered her directly to his car. "She's got asthma. The fumes are very toxic to her." Surely, by the end of her pregnancy, everyone was going to believe she was terminal. The detective backed off and watched them leave. "I'll be right back," Booth called over his shoulder.

Brennan felt terrible. She had fought with Booth over letting her come with him to the crime scene, only to get there and find out she could not be there after all. Inhaling chemicals, whatever it was, could be very dangerous in any stage of her pregnancy. She allowed Booth to open the passenger's door and got inside. She sat down on the seat and fought the tears that threatened to fall down.

"The substance can be analyzed at the lab. I can continue working on the bones as soon as they are boiled and cleaned," she said, wiping her eyes quickly. "I can still be of help. There are a lot of things I can do."

Booth reached for her cheek and tilted her chin up slightly so she could see that he was looking at her intently. "I don't care about any of that. Hm? Look at me." She did. "Are you okay? Do you want me to call Analeigh? Is there anything wrong with you? Pain, trouble breathing…?"

Brennan shook her head. "No, I haven't inhaled that much. You took me away in time. I'm sorry I was so stubborn."

Booth sighed. "I'm sorry for being so overprotective. I'm sure that there are some things in the field which you can continue to do." Although he was going to decide for her which things these were, but he chose wisely not to tell her that.

Brennan smiled sadly. "You should be sorry for something else."

Booth thought back to what she said before. He just did not understand why it upset her so much. Why did she drag Hannah's name into this? "Bones, why does it bother you so much? I thought women were so supposed to be happy when a man would take the time and not pressure her into having sex with him."

Brennan felt the urge to kick him in the knees. "Yes, but I really did want to be with you last night. And I could tell that you wanted me. I felt it." She defended. "And I don't understand why you did have sex with me that night, why you had no problem giving it all up so soon to Hannah and now you're just keeping me at a distance." She cocked her head to the side. "Wasn't I good? Don't you like me anymore?"

"No Bones, none of that." He sighed. He really did not feel like bringing Hannah up ever again, but she did not leave him a choice. "Hannah was different, because she wasn't you."

"W-what…how do you mean?"

"I got together with Hannah, because she was the first one that offered herself to me after I told you I would have to move on. I made myself believe that I really loved her, maybe I even did at one point in my life, but now, being with you, everything is much more intense." Booth smoothed some non-existent wrinkles from his pants. "So making love to you, would be too. I want to, need to make sure that we're both ready for those feelings that could ignite when we do. I think you might underestimate the intensity of us, Bones."

She just kept quiet and heard him out.

"What we have is so special. It doesn't need rushing. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. So let's just take the time and get used to this new kind of us. We were sad, seven weeks ago. We realized how mortal we were and how short life could be. This is different, Bones. We are different now."

Bones blinked her eyes a couple of times. "I just want to feel good with you. Make you feel good too. That's not so strange, is it?"

"No, it's not. But just give us two more weeks. I'm sure it will be better. Trust me. It will be less confusing."

Brennan did not see how intimacy could be that confusing, but his keywords 'trust me' always made things difficult. "Two weeks tops," she compromised. "I will not complain if it happens sooner."

Booth laughed. "I'm sure you won't," he handed her the keys to his car. "You can drive yourself to the lab. I'll catch a ride back when we're done here." She took the keys and got out of the passenger's seat. Reluctantly, she walked around the car to the driver's side. Booth followed her, shoving his hands into his pockets. "For the record, I think you're very cute when you're jealous."

Brennan's eyes widened. "I was not jealous! I was merely…" she was silent as she opened the door to the car. "…inquiring." Booth laughed.

"Hey, I don't blame you! I get jealous too sometimes! Whenever I see your Leonardo DiCaprio background on your cellphone—"

Brennan shook her head and got into the car. She broke all eye contact as she pulled the chair further up to the steering wheel and changed the car's mirrors. "I did not put it there! It came with the phone…"

Booth leaned against the side of his car and smiled at her. "No Bones, grass and sunshine backgrounds come with the phone. Good-looking actors, that is just all you. I have to say, I never would have guessed that behind you."

Brennan lowered the window and leaned into his face. "No, I did not. I received a 'Shutter Island Limited Edition'," she frowned again as she put on the sunglasses, which she had left on the passenger side's glove compartment. "I still don't know what that is."

Booth leaned in to, but did not dare to kiss her, in case any cops were looking around the corner. "Of course you don't."

Brennan started the car with a smile. "See you at the lab?"

Booth nodded and could not help himself but reach inside to push a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. He loved how soft it felt. He could never get enough of that. "Two hours at the most, because then you need feeding again."

Brennan raised both her eyebrows at him, but smiled nevertheless. She put the car in reverse and Booth took a few steps back. She waved at him before she turned the car around and drove off. He watched it disappear around a corner, on the way back to the Jeffersonian. He sighed. He never thought he'd ever see the day that he would let a woman drive his car.

He smiled and walked back to the crime scene again, in slow steps. Oh yeah, she was definitely the one he was going to grow old with.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: So how did you guys like it? I can't believe I thought of a case… Your themes have helped me greatly. If I didn't pick yours, just try again for chapter twenty (or maybe I will still write it in between). As you can see, I like challenges. Oh, and for those who asked, the game they played yesterday is a real game…but a Dutch one. I played it with my ex once and it made for a lot of fun. He came up with these fake apples when I wrote down my most useless gadgets was an egg boiler. <em>

_I like how you guys have your own ideas for this story and how me mentioning twins sparked such a discussion. Rest assured, I'm like the weather. I don't write pre-meditated (much). I can suddenly decide that they're going to have quintuplets. How's that for being original (poor Brennan)? So don't worry. Clichés are really not my thing._

_BUT… how would you feel about a rating change? If and when B&B get into bed together (again), do you want to read what's going on between the sheets? I'll never be a smut-writer though, so don't expect sex scenes that are too over the top. Let me know in a review or on Twitter AllysonHale. I don't want to upset all those loyal readers who've been with me since the beginning. _

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan get an unexpected visitor in the evening. One hint: it's not Santa!_


	12. Week 9, day 5

**Hiatus**

_AllyH's Note: Ah, back to the story. One of you guessed the visitor! I know you've just been waiting for this one, subconsciously…_

Week 9, day 5

_Not quoting today, so I can dedicate this chapter to all my lovely Twitter friends that I met through this story. You guys are amazing! Xxx Ally_

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><p>Their eyes met as they made the bed together. Folding back the sheets, Brennan bend down and threw Booth a pillow. He caught it with ease and chuckled. Brennan smiled as she gently laid a pillow on her own side of the bed too. Booth shuffled his naked feet on her carpeted floor. "So you know the deal, right? You can touch me all you want, but if things get too…" he paused for a second as he thought of the right word, "heated, I will have to leave. Otherwise, I'll spend the night with you."<p>

Brennan fluffed up her pillow as she looked at him with a blank expression, feigning all innocence. "I remember what you said, Booth, but I can't help myself. These hormones are making it very hard on me."

Booth smoothed the sheets of the bed with his hands, caressing out the wrinkles as he smiled at Brennan's excuse. These were not just hormones at work, and they both knew it. Both of them had already changed into their sleepwear and they were ready to go to bed if it had not been for the time. Booth would make her some more tea after they changed the sheets together and he would fix himself some scotch. It would be midnight very quickly.

"And anthropologically speaking, my drive to sleep with you indicates my readiness to mate with you. It's…very healthy. You should be flattered." Oh, were they going to go down that road again? Sometimes, Booth thought that it was a whole lot easier to just give her what she wants, rather than continue this argument with her, every single day. However, he was a man with principles and high-standing morals.

"I am, Bones, very flattered. Though this is not just about anthropology," he walked over to her side as she straightened her back. He placed both of his hands on her elbows, lightly. "This is about—"

Booth was interrupted by the door bell, which were followed quickly by some persistent knocks on the front door. Brennan and Booth looked at each other questioningly. Brennan checked the time on her alarm clock. 10:15 P.M. "I'm not expecting anyone." Booth looked over at his gun, which he had placed on the night stand.

"Have you checked your phone?" Booth questioned.

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "I did five minutes ago. I did not have any calls or text messages then." Booth let go of her and decided to collect his gun after all. Brennan frowned. "Booth, don't you think that's a bit over the top? We're not working any high-profiled cases. It could just be someone from the lab."

Booth tucked his gun into the waistband of his jogging pants as he walked with her to the hallway. "Yeah? Well, they should have called first." The bell rang another time and Brennan stood on her tip toes in front of the door to look through the tiny glass.

She leaned back on her heels and shook her head at Booth. "I don't think you have to worry."

Booth continued to rest his hand over his gun. "Who is it?"

She opened the door slightly, before Max Keenan barged in, holding a printed sheet with a colored photo. "Tempe, are you okay?" He reached up to cradle Brennan's head in his hands. He looked her directly into the eyes, as she frowned back at him. Her hand was still on the door knob as her father examined her face carefully. When she looked sideways, Max followed her gaze until he rested on the man she was with. "Booth! What are you doing here?"

Booth raised both of his eyebrows and raised his hands defensively. "I guess I could ask you the same thing, Max." Brennan pulled away from Max's hold and closed the door behind him.

Max looked in confusion from Booth to Brennan and then noticed the way they were dressed. "What the hell is going on here?" Booth and Brennan looked at each other and knew that there was no way they could work around this situation anymore. Booth thought of another medical condition which he could attribute to the fact that he was just about to crawl into bed with his daughter, but came up with nothing.

"Dad, Booth and I—"

Max turned back to his daughter and showed her the piece of paper. "I found this on the internet today. Apparently, you made the gossip section of the newspaper." Brennan took the sheet from him and read it. "I want to know what happened and what the hell you've got to do with all of it." Max took a few steps into his direction.

"Wow, Max, simmer down!" Booth said, not helping at all in calming him down. Brennan held up the print for Booth to read. 'Best-selling author Temperance Brennan led away from crime scene'. Below was a photo of Booth covering Brennan's mouth and nose with the sleeve of his jacket and his other arm around her waist. They both looked rather distressed. Behind them, people surrounding the crime scene tape were looking at them. Booth rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's all your worried about?"

Max shifted to wrest his weight on his other leg as he folded his arms together in front of his chest. "They wrote that she had an asthma attack. I know for a fact that she does not have asthma, so what was it?" His eyes were flaming, the same way that Brennan's did sometimes and Booth knew he would have to be very careful now.

Brennan, feeling rather neglected as her father was too busy literally getting in Booth's face, spoke up: "Dad, I'm right here! You're right, I don't have asthma. Booth used it as an excuse to get everybody off my back." The moment was too intense for anybody to notice that she had used an expression correctly.

Max turned around again to look at her. "Why? Something's changed between you two! I demand to know what it is. Are you in danger?" Brennan shook her head. "You look different. Have you gained weight?"

"I'm pregnant." There, she said it. There was a long moment of silence in which neither of them knew what to say exactly. Brennan placed the article on top of a chest of drawers and waited for a response. When none came, she decided to add some detail. "I'm nine weeks and five days along today."

Max opened his mouth and furrowed his brow together. He looked sideways at Booth. "Are you responsible for that?"

Booth cleared his throat nervously and decided to watch his Bones instead. She was looking down, her face a pale white. She was getting tired again, Booth could tell. This was probably not the way she had planned on telling her father. Booth decided that he would get rid of Max if it was getting too much for Brennan. Surely, a father would understand. "Yes sir, I am."

Max looked Booth up and down. "Why didn't you tell me you were dating?"

Brennan started feeling a little bit light-headed and placed a hand against a wall to steady her. She sighed in frustration, or exhaustion, she could not tell anymore. "Because we weren't."

The fire in Max's eyes rekindled as he closed the last bit of distance between him and Booth and raised his fist up to him menacingly. Booth took a step back, not wanting this to get out of hand and end in a physical fight. He was also carrying his gun; who knows what would happen if Max got his hands on it in his current state of mind. "You slept with my daughter without using your head? They have birth control for that nowadays, you moron!"

"Dad!" Brennan called out. "It was my mistake too!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brennan take a few faltering steps and he stepped beside Max so he could come and support her with his arm around him. Brennan leaned into him and took a few deep breaths.

Max took in the sight of her daughter, dressed for bed with the man who once arrested him and finally noticed how tight she was holding on to him, clutching his side. "Tempe, are you okay?" Brennan shook her head, but then started nodding.

"Hormones and morning sickness have been killing me, but I'm fine otherwise," she looked up at Booth, seeing his worried expression. He always seemed to know what she needed before she even realized herself. "We are happy. We're together now and we want to raise this baby together. We both forgot about birth control, it's not just Booth's fault. Maybe most of it is even my fault."

Max shook his head. "No, it's definitely Booth's fault."

Booth opened his mouth to argue but Brennan cut him off. "We're ready to accept the consequences. Like I said, we're happy." She closed her eyes for a few seconds, just holding on to Booth and enjoying the bodily contact.

"Where are you guys going to live?" Then he looked back up at Booth. "Are you going to marry her?"

Booth thought he felt Brennan's knees buckle underneath her and he tightened his hold on her. "Um…Max, maybe we can do this some other time? She is about to fall asleep right here."

When Brennan did not say anything, Max nodded, remembering exactly how her mother had been when she was pregnant. "Alright, but I _will_ be back and I expect _you_ to figure some stuff out. She can't do all that alone." Booth nodded. "And if I find that you fail to take your responsibility, I will stage another crime scene, shoot you, hang you upside-down from a tree and feed you to the vultures. Do you get that?"

Booth forced a smile. "Yes, Max, thank you were for being so descriptive."

Brennan re-opened her eyes. "I thought you were supposed to congratulate people when they announce a pregnancy, not blackmail them."

Max cocked his head to the side, staring strictly at Booth. "It was not blackmail, honey. This was a promise. But I do wish you all the best and happiness, so I'm happy for you if it makes you happy." Booth raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it does. It makes me very—" she stopped when her feet gave way beneath her, but Booth caught her.

"Okay Max, time to say night-night." Booth demanded, as he placed another arm underneath her knees and swept her up in his arms. Brennan rested her hand against his shoulder.

"Bye, dad," she murmured. Max walked up to her and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"Bye sweetheart." He then shot another warning look at Booth. "Bye Booth."

"Goodnight, Max," he greeted kindly, when Max opened the front door and let himself out of the house. Booth sighed and looked at the woman in his arms. Well, at least he did not have to be afraid anymore that she was going to attack him tonight. He could not help but worry though, because she had seemed fine just half an hour ago.

Booth carried her to the bedroom and gently placed her on her neatly prepared and ready-made bed. Brennan re-opened her eyes slightly. "I'm sorry. My dad was being overly protective of me."

Booth shrugged his shoulders as he helped to tuck her into bed. "Don't worry about it. If we get a daughter, I won't allow her to start dating until she's forty either and I'll raise her with idea that sex is a very bad thing." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, before he retreated to the other side of the bed and placed the gun back on the nightstand.

Brennan was too tired to frown, but thought it was important to set him straight before she finally went to sleep. "But I'm thirty-two…" Booth smiled in amusement and watched her as her breathing evened out and she fell into a peaceful slumber.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: Lucky Brennan. Not one, but two men looking out for her! But now the media starts getting involved too! <em>

_I'm still somewhat undecided about this rating change and how to handle that. Maybe I'll make two separate chapters or just create a separate story where I can post the M-chapters. Any ideas, please a review or tell me on Twitter: AllysonHale , that is me! _

_Tomorrow: Brennan meets up with Angela. Alone. Would Brennan keep her pregnancy from her best friend or will Angela figure it out for herself anyway? What DO they talk about? You'll find out if you keep reading! _


	13. Week 9, day 6

**Hiatus **_by Ally H._

_AllyH's Note: After my own horrible dinner date, I hope this chapter turned out much better. Hope you enjoy! Thank you for all the sweet compliments on Twitter! _

Week 9, day 6

_"Be wary, oh, be careful. It's only skin and therefore so breakable , but take heart it's only a part of who you are." – Anna Nalick 'Walk Away'_

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><p>Brennan found Angela sitting outside the diner, the sun warming her skin pleasantly. Her dark hair rested on her back in loose strands. Brennan was a little surprised to find her without baby Michael. Though the weather was beautiful, maybe he was still too young to stay out in his carriage while they had a coffee together. Brennan paused on the opposite side of the street. She still had a lot to learn. She did not know much about babies, their limits and their possibilities when it came to these small things. Would she find out along the way?<p>

Brennan crossed the street when the road was clear from both sides. She had parked her car just around the corner, thankful that Booth did not protest at all when she had told him about her plans with Angela. He actually wished her a good time! Brennan smiled unconsciously. Overprotective he may be, but he was also very understanding. He could handle her emotions, mood swings and cravings flexibly.

When Brennan approached Angela, she greeted her, making her turn around. "Hi Angela." Brennan leaned down, so that Angela did not have to get up from her chair, and pressed a kiss on each cheek.

"Hi sweetie!" Angela smiled back at her. Brennan walked over to the other side of the table and sat down, placing her handbag in between her feet. Angela cocked her head to the side and examined Brennan closely. "Are you pregnant?"

Brennan blinked her eyes a couple of times in shock and looked down her body to find any signs that could have given it away, but the trench coat hid everything from sight. Not that there was much to see at nearly ten weeks… her stomach was as flat as it had been before, even though Booth was making her eat on a regular basis now. Her breasts were definitely fuller, but she could barely believe that Angela was staring at her chest. "What…? Who told you that?" Where was Booth at a time like this? He would know just what to say. She did not.

Angela leaned forward, resting both of her elbows on the table. Brennan was wide-eyed with surprise. Two people found out about it in two days! Surely, she was doing something wrong… "Hodgins did, by giving me a bunch of crap about you being on some sort of diet." Brennan leaned back in her chair and was still busy digesting the information to be able to respond. "From what he told me, you might as well be pregnant. Except for the weight loss thing."

Brennan bit her lip as she exhaled nervously. "Did you tell him?"

Angela's mouth dropped in shock. "I'm right?" Brennan did not say anything. It was too late to deny anything now. Angela took the silence as a sign of confirmation. She squealed and got up from her chair so she could walk over and hug Brennan. Brennan accepted the arms around her neck passively. "So you're having a Baby Booth, huh?" Angela went back to her chair, still ecstatic by the news.

Brennan fidgeted in her seat, feeling somewhat like a failure. "My midwife calls it a kidney bean." She shrugged her shoulders. "It's Booth's. He's been telling people that I'm dieting and suffering from asthma as an excuse for every obstacle we run into."

"Oh my God," Angela said, furrowing her brow.

"I don't want to tell anybody. Not until I'm in my second trimester. Everything is in such an uncertain stage right now and Booth and I both don't want too many people involved just yet. " Brennan signaled for a waitress by raising her hand.

"Oh my God!"

Now it was Brennan's turn to frown. "Yeah, you said that already." When a waitress appeared, Angela ordered a coffee, while Brennan stuck with the ever-cleansing tea. She was fine with drinking tea all the time, but she was starting to miss the caffeine. It took her about twice as long now, to get started in the morning.

Angela stared at her. "Brennan, Hodgins thinks you're really sick. Maybe you should tell Booth to mind his words a little."

Brennan shook her head. "No, I told everybody not to worry and they should listen to me. You can't tell anyone, Ange, please. Promise me you won't tell anyone. Not even Hodgins!" Her eyes showed a desperation that touched Angela in the heart. It put her in a really difficult position of keeping something from her husband in order to be loyal to her friend. "Please."

The loyalty to her friend won out. "Alright. The whole diet thing is just a big gossip anyway. They should put the pieces together eventually." Angela's eyes shifted down to Brennan's belly. "How far along are you exactly?"

"Nine weeks and six days today. I'm due December 29th."

Angela started smiling again and grabbed Brennan's hands over the table. "Oh, do you know how exciting this is? You're going to have a baby too! Michael will have someone to play with and become friends with… Our kids will grow up together! That's so cute!" Brennan chuckled at Angela's excitement.

"I think I'm going to have to give birth to it first though," Brennan rationalized, when it obviously made her want to have this baby even more. She did want the happy future that Angela was painting. Booth was good at doing that too, instantly taking all her cares away for a little while.

The waitress came and brought them their drinks and Angela released Brennan's hands. "So how has pregnancy been treating you?"

Brennan took a sip from her tea and shoved it ahead of her when she put the cup back down on the table. It was way too hot still. "It's been hard. I fall asleep very suddenly, sometimes. I've had morning sickness and the only thing that works seems to be some sort of Chinese soup. Sometimes I get dizzy…but I think my skin is the worst." Brennan raised a hand up to her face to push the bangs back from her forehead.

Angela looked at her face and noticed the pimples and unevenness. Brennan had covered it up with camouflage the best that she could, but it nevertheless remained visible. "Wow, I never had it that bad. It's probably just your hormones. Don't worry, most symptoms get better after your first trimester."

Brennan smiled. "I can't wait for that."

Angela unwrapped the cookie that came with her coffee and ate it. Brennan handed her her own cookie too. She did not feel like eating sugary things. She would have preferred pickles or sour herrings with her tea. Angela accepted it gratefully. "So how's Booth doing? When did you tell him?"

Brennan smiled, thinking back to that night. "I told him out on the street, right after Michael was born. To my surprise, he was actually happy with it, because you know, it only happened that one night I told you about and neither of us had ever mentioned birth control. So then we went home to talk and I fell asleep on his couch."

"Did he wake you?"

"Not really. He just undressed me and laid me down on his bed. We talked the day after though." Brennan paused. "When we went to my first midwife appointment together, he kissed me and later I kissed him too. And now…we're in this new relationship, which is very nice. His presence makes me really happy."

An evil grin appeared on Angela's face. "Let me guess, it's not just his _presence_ that makes you happy."

Brennan noticed the obvious emphasis and raised an eyebrow. "You mean sex?" Angela nodded. "Well, he allows me to kiss him, but I can't get him to have sex with me. He always leaves just in time, right before things can get 'too heated' as he calls it." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm ready. He's the one that's holding things off. I can't help but keep thinking that maybe I did something wrong or that he's not sure about me. I haven't changed much physically, yet. He keeps saying that's not the case, but..."

Angela watched as Brennan's eyes dropped to her lap and she felt the overwhelming need to make her feel better. Maybe this caring side of hers had come along with motherhood. "Sweetie, that's not you. It's him! I've been through the same thing with Hodgins!"

Brennan looked up hopefully. "You have?"

Angela nodded in confirmation. "Yes. All men are just as insecure as we are, even though they won't admit it. Booth really likes you, Bren, not just your looks, but your everything. He just wants to be extra careful with you, now that you're pregnant. It's just another example of him wanting to protect you. "

Brennan thought for a while, before phrasing the next question. "If Hodgins was the same, how did you deal with it?"

The same evil grin reappeared, which she had shown before when she had been questioning Brennan. "I just caught him when I knew he was the most vulnerable." Brennan looked at her with a blank face, not understanding what she was getting at. "In his sleep."

"Oh." Brennan considered the option. Why had she not thought of that yet? They spent plenty of nights together, but she had not tried to do anything while he slept. She could certainly try, but she was conflicted over the fact that she had promised to give him two weeks.

Angela straightened her shoulders and drank her coffee. "I'm so happy for you that you finally hooked up with Booth and that you're having his baby. This is how it was meant to be all along!" Brennan was still caught up in her thoughts on her previous suggestion, before she suddenly remembered something important.

"Ange, you need to tell me all you know about raising a baby. I don't know anything. I need someone to teach me or I'm bound to fail miserably."

Angela felt like reaching for the girl over the table and pressing a huge kiss on her head. She just leaned forward instead. "I will, you don't have to worry. You will see that a lot of things will come naturally as well, but you can ask me anything. Is there something you would like to know now?"

Brennan nodded and wrapped her hands around her tea cup. It had finally cooled down to an acceptable temperature. "I want to know how Michael is doing." She smiled at her best friend and she felt all the worry about her finding out this secret slip away from her.

Angela smiled brightly and took out her phone. "He's doing great! Come on, I'll show you some pictures…"

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><p><p>

Brennan walked back to her car, feeling very relieved and light-hearted. She was glad that her best friend knew and she trusted her with her entire heart that she would not say anything to anyone. With her phone in her hand, she decided to send Booth a quick message and bring him up to speed: _Ange knows. She guessed. Won't tell anyone. See you at home?_

Finding her car in the parking lot, she felt her phone vibrate as soon as she unlocked the car, opened the door and sat down. That was quick, she thought, seeing the envelope symbol on her phone, indicating a text message. She smiled when she opened it, showing Booth's name. _I'm happy for you. She's a good confidante. I'll be at your place in fifteen minutes. Brought you more soup. Booth._

Knowing that the most important people in her life now knew what she was going through, Brennan no longer felt as restrained like she did before. The photos of Michael were like a perfect glimpse into a happy future. It seemed so close that she could almost reach for it now. Brennan sighed as she just sat there in her car for a moment, feeling content simply because of the way things were right now.

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><p><p>

_AllyH's Note: Well, isn't Angela the perceptive friend? Is she REALLY able to keep something huge like this a secret, though? Tell me your ideas in a review or on Twitter (AllysonHale)! _

_My temping agency called me today and they had two very interesting job offers for me, something entirely different! So, to everyone who's been so supportive, thank you! If this head nurse position is not working out for me, I'm just going to move on and leave them with their own broken pieces. I did my best and your thoughts have helped, I'm sure of it!_

_And to all my Twitter friends, due to a very busy day at work, I will reply to all your lovely tweets tomorrow. I'm so happy with all my new friends there!_

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan are going grocery shopping together. Will it be easy and comfortable or will the bickering flare up again? And how many people have read the media lately (and why is it so important for me to mention it here)? _


	14. Week 9, day 7

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: Oh, I really shouldn't write this when Wipe-Out is playing in the background. The bad humor could rub off on me. Shout-out to drjamband, the cucumber reference is hers. It totally cracked me up and I could fit it into the story so perfectly…_

Week 9, day 7

_"It's not always rainbows and butterflies; it's compromise that moves us along." - Maroon 5, 'She Will Be Loved'_

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><p>Booth was pushing the shopping cart ahead of him as he walked through the aisles of the supermarket. Brennan had her arm linked through his as she stepped with him in synchrony. Booth was feeling rather nervous. For the past two weeks he had done all the grocery shopping by himself and provided her with whatever it was that she needed. Now that she was here with him –and of course she had insisted on coming along- he was pretty sure that his life would not be that easy anymore.<p>

He turned out to be right. He had grabbed a bouquet of daffodils that were standing in buckets next to the windows in the front of the store. She had raised an eyebrow when he rubbed a soft petal between his fingers, before putting it in the shopping cart. "You really don't need to buy me flowers every three days, you know?"

Booth had winked to her and reached over to give her hand a light squeeze. "Well, I want to. Okay, Bones? I know you like them." She did, but she did not like how it made her feel all giddy and warm inside. She never was someone that demanded gifts or presents. Booth was continuously spoiling her, while she was content just being with him. He did not have to prove his affection to her by getting her things all the time.

She had raised her chin up in the air in mock defiance. "Do you know what I would _really_ like?" Half expecting her to bring up the subject of sex again, Booth had taken it as his cue to push the cart onwards again and pretend to be really interested in the juice options that happened to be right in front of them.

Now, she was wondering off to the bread section, while Booth took a jar of peanut butter from the shelve. He had come to learn that she liked raspberry tea the most, so he decided maybe she would like raspberry jelly as well. Just when he placed it down in the cart, Brennan walked back, holding four bags of loafs of bread. "I got you two loafs of brown bread and myself two white ones." She stated it matter of factly, acting as if she was not aware of Booth's eyes on her.

"What? No, Bones! Brown bread is much more nutritious. You know that. You need all the extra vitamins and fibers in your diet." Booth took the bags from her and was just about to walk off with them, to change it for brown bread, when Brennan called after him.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Booth, you are completely going overboard with the healthy eating! I need some diversity in my diet too, you know?" She sighed in frustration. She loved how he was so caring about her, but he could be a little suffocating too. If she was going to have to take this for another thirty weeks, she was sure that there were going to be major disagreements between them.

Booth returned, with two bags of brown bread. He noticed Brennan's angry eyes and he knew he was going to have to let her have something or she would never let him drive her home. "Alright, you know what? You can pick some items too and I will accept them without any further comment. Just, not the bread, alright?"

Brennan narrowed her eyes at him. She trusted him, but not his ability to let her have her own way. Even after seven years of working together and her not spontaneously hurting anyone in a long time, he still would not let her have a gun. "Alright. Five items, okay? No further questions asked from you."

Booth leaned forward on the shopping cart. "Three items." That ought to be enough unhealthy stuff for a week. Then, if he was making her food again, he could spread them out equally and not have her eat too much crap at once.

Brennan straightened her shoulders. "Five." She raised a single eyebrow again, daring him to fight her on this.

Booth was not a quitter. "Four." He argued, his lips curving up into a small smile.

Brennan shrugged. "I really want five items, Booth." Booth cocked his head to the side. Damn her. He could hardly ever refuse her anything anymore. Accept for maybe a gun. He had to remind himself to find that awfully large thing that she had gotten herself somewhere.

"Fine," he gave in, only because it would allow him to get some more stuff without her arguing as well. "Five items. Then you come back here and we will continue our grocery shopping without complaining, alright? Otherwise people are going to think that we have marital problems." If they did not think so already. Booth rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook the thoughts away.

Brennan shook her head. "It's impossible to have marital problems when we're not married." She smiled at him one last time before she walked off into another aisle. "Oh, and Booth? If you get broccoli one more time, I swear I will make a run for it now and spread them all over the floor."

Booth laughed, actually able to picture the sight of her dashing towards the vegetables and throwing all broccoli out of its box. "I'll just wash them off at home," he replied. Reaching inside his coat, he took his grocery list and pen out of his pocket and drew a line through 'broccoli'.

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><p>Booth had wandered off with the shopping cart as Brennan was getting her precious five items. He got the usual: tea for her, coffee for him, butter, eggs, cheese and yoghurt. When he came to the baby section, he could not help himself and walked through the aisle, looking all the shelves up and down. This was more than just a grocery store. It had toys varying in sizes, baby food suitable for different ages, diapers and stuffed animals… The aisle right behind it had baby blankets, tricycles, bottles and dummies.<p>

Booth stopped when he found a stuffed teddy bear. It was rather big and a light blue. It had arms that you could stick together with Velcro, so that it could cradle a baby or wrap its arms around a small child. Booth did not even have to look at the price tag. He knew that he wanted to be the one buying the baby its first gift and he knew that he wanted this to be it. Brennan was probably going to think he was silly, but he would not mind it one bit. The very first item for their nursery was perfect, albeit it was bought a little early.

He fit the stuffed on the steel bars at the bottom of the cart, the plateau which was actually meant for beer crates. He moved on to the racks of baby clothes. Booth admired all the sizes and different colors. There were little dresses, baby sacks, tiny pajama's…but then something else caught his eye. Walking over to another rack, he took out a pink, orange, yellow and white striped tank top. It was labeled as maternity wear, and widened from the chest down. It did not look baggy or ugly at all and it seemed perfect for the warm summer ahead of them. Booth checked for its size and—

"There you are!" He turned around to find Brennan, holding her items in her arms. She walked over to the carriage and dropped everything in it. She looked up at Booth, who was just staring at her questioningly. "What?" She asked, glancing around, trying to find out what he was doing.

Booth raised up the fabric that he had been examining and flattened it against her upper body. She frowned at first as Booth held the colorful top against her trench coat, but then she looked up at him. Booth smiled. Her light blue eyes showed well with the light colors in the cotton and it was long enough to reach her waist. "It's gorgeous on you," Booth spoke in a soft voice, making Brennan smile. He gave her compliments all the time, but there was an emotional touch to his voice now that she could feel tugging at the strings of her heart. "I'm buying this for you. For when, you know, you can't fit into your regular clothes anymore."

Brennan chuckled. "That's very nice of you, Booth. I like it." And she did, although she was not used to wearing something quite as colorful, just the fact that Booth had picked it out for and was speechless about it, made it special.

When Booth finally snapped out of it, he placed the top in the shopping cart. He then noticed Brennan's grocery items. What the hell? He frowned, holding up the box to determine if that was what he thought it was. "I get the pickles, herring and tuna fish, but may I ask you what you plan on doing with these tampons?"

Brennan shifted her weight from one leg to the other. Due to her cravings, she had decided to eat fish again, but she still stayed away from meat. Was it not obvious to Booth what tampons are for? "Exactly what they are meant for, Booth. I ran out!" She smiled when she noticed the blue teddy bear. He just could not help himself. "Isn't that one a little big?"

The teddy bear was the last thing on Booth's mind right now. "Wow, Bones, wait! Do you mean that you are still losing blood…from that area? I don't think you're supposed to! Let's quickly pay for this and take you to the doctor." He grabbed her elbow and pushed the car towards the check out with a single hand.

Brennan shook him off of her. "Booth, hold on a second! You don't always have to assume the worst! At the moment, I'm fine, nothing to worry about, but there's going to be a time where I will be bleeding again, and then I will need tampons." She folded her arms in front of her chest.

Booth frowned at her. "So why do you want to buy these now? Why not get something that I would prefer you not to eat, like these salty peanuts that you like so much?"

"Because I'm in my first trimester. Anything could happen still! Why are you questioning me? We had agreed not to do that," Brennan argued defensively.

Booth dropped his head and picked up another item. "A cucumber?"

Brennan nodded her head. "Yeah, I can cut them into slices, put them in vinegar and then they'll get sour." Of course, it always had to be sour or salty. Everything else seemed to bore her.

Booth shook his head. "This one will have to go, Bones, I'm serious. Pick something else, except for tomatoes. You can't have those either."

Brennan raised her eyebrows. "What? Why?"

Booth walked back with her to the vegetable section of the store and put it back where it belonged. "Because there are deadly cucumbers in Germany! Didn't you hear the news? People who ate cucumbers and tomatoes have died by some weird veggie bacteria. I don't want you to die a painful cucumber death!" Booth grabbed a broccoli and held it out to her, just to tease her. "You might want to get this one instead."

Brennan cocked her head to the side and exhaled as she rolled her eyes at him. "That story is not entirely accurate, I'm sure, and these cucumbers' origin is from the US, check the sign. These are not poisoned German cucumbers." Brennan swatted his hand with the broccoli away and grabbed another cucumber.

Booth caught it with his own hand, so that they were both pulling at the vegetable. "That could just be what they want you to believe, Bones, otherwise nobody would dare to buy them anymore. Come on, what would Analeigh think if you went to visit her because you got sick after you were stubborn enough to eat a cucumber, huh?" Their eyes met, staring each other down in an intense confrontation.

"What would Analeigh think about what?"

They both turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. Analeigh was standing behind them, a baby carrier hung around her neck and was strapped around her waist. With one arm, she supported the baby that was carefully tucked inside the carrier, resting against her upper body. With her other hand, she was holding a basket of the store. Her blonde hair was down and her green eyes smiled up at them in amusement.

Brennan instantly forgot about the cucumber and walked over to her. "Hi Analeigh…and Florine!" Brennan smiled brightly as the baby looked up at her and smiled. The baby reached out with a hand and grabbed Brennan's hair. "She's responsive to sound!"

"Yeah, and faces as well," Analeigh laughed, before looking up at Booth. He was watching his girl come to live whenever she saw a baby and it made their future together look even brighter. "So, you guys were doing your shopping here?"

Booth snapped out of his thoughts of Brennan cooing the baby and raised his eyes up to look at her. "Yes. We were just having a disagreement about the cucumber. Maybe you can help her make the decision to eat safe foods that are not infected by German bacteria…"

Analeigh gritted her teeth together nervously. "Yeah, about that. I read that you have asthma…and that doesn't make me the most qualified person to watch you through this pregnancy. Maybe next time you come in for an appointment, we can ask one of our obstetricians for their opinion." Since a midwife only dealt with low-risk pregnancy, Analeigh would not be able to give her extra medication during labor or give her an oxygen mask without the doctor's permission.

Brennan shook her head, making the baby squeal in excitement at the dancing hair. "Oh, you read that? I don't have asthma. It was one of Booth's excuses to get me away from a dead body that had been dozed with chemicals. We haven't told anyone about my pregnancy yet." Brennan turned back to the smiling baby. "Look at that! Your hair is just like your mother's, oh yes it is." She tickled the baby's head, where a few tiny golden hairs had appeared.

Analeigh frowned. "Oh. Well, that's a white lie that got out of hand, then…"

"What do you mean?" Booth asked. He placed the cucumber back in the box and stepped closer so he could see the baby too. For no reason, he placed one hand on the small of Brennan's back.

Analeigh pointed to the right. "Have you checked out the gossip magazines a couple of aisles away? Every single one of them is discussing you and your battle with asthma. One claims that you have been hospitalized for it, several times."

Brennan straightened her back. "We never said that!" Baby Florine grabbed hold of her pinky finger and started shaking it, cheerfully. She pressed her lips together and smacked Booth on the shoulder. "Now look what you did! You turned me into an asthma patient. It's really not true though, Analeigh…"

Analeigh smiled. "I believe you, don't worry. I'll see you in a little over a week, alright?" Brennan reluctantly pried herself away from the baby and took a step back.

"Yes. I'll see you then." With a single wave, Analeigh passed by them and went to another aisle. Booth and Brennan looked after her. Booth pulled Brennan closer and smiled at her with a teasing expression.

"If you lay off of these cucumber for a while, we'll have one of those in seven months."

Brennan pushed Booth away from her and chuckled slightly. "Fine! You win! I won't take a cucumber." She latched onto his arm again as he got back behind the shopping cart. "Let's go get these peanuts again instead..."

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: Even though I live next to Germany, I will admit it has never stopped me from eating veggies. In fact, I consist of 25% cucumber, 32% tomatoes and pickles, 18% cheese and 25% bad humor. <em>

_I'll let you know right now that Saturday's chapter might run a little late, due to a modeling job that's come up. I'll update you via Twitter (AllysonHale), so you'll know when to expect it. Yes, I know no rest…_

_Tomorrow: Brennan is not feeling well. At all. She ends up fainting! What could be wrong with her? Anything scary? Rest assured, everybody, according to Dr. House it's never Lupus… _


	15. Week 10, day 1

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: So here we go, part 2 of nursing-midwifery 101. By the end of this story, I'm educated enough to temp at a birthing center myself!_

Week 10, day 1

"_Stars feel like knives, they tell us why we're fighting. Storm, wait outside. Oh love, keep us together. – Eric McCarley, 'Love, Save the Empty' _

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><p>Brennan exhaled slowly, breathing out through her mouth before she inhaled through the nose. She probably looked ridiculous, but it did not matter, as everybody on the forensic platform was busy doing their own tasks. The chemicals and the flesh left on the body that had been found earlier this week, had been removed and cleaned very thoroughly. Cam had asked her if she was certain about wanting to do this case, because she too had heard about her supposed asthmatic episode at the scene. Brennan had assured her that she was fine now that all substances had been stripped from the bones.<p>

Come on, she could do this! There was a knick on the left radius; it looked like he once took a bullet there. Several of his ribs showed healed fractures, the discolorations were almost located in a straight diagonal line. Car crash, maybe? The seat belt holding him back in his seat during the impact? Brennan's vision blurred and she quickly grabbed hold to the side of the autopsy table. What was wrong with her? The sun above her shined on her more often, but today she felt like it lit all of her cells on fire. When Brennan felt steady enough again, she released one hand from the table, to brush her pony tail from her neck.

There was supposed to be air conditioning in this room, but Brennan could not feel the difference right now. She could practically feel the heat physically pressing on her chest, limiting her ability to breath. She would almost believe that Booth had not been too far off with his asthma after all. She straightened her shoulders and leaned forward over the autopsy table again. Okay, what was next? Right, the femurs…

"Doctor Brennan!" She looked up to see Hodgins approaching her, but a wave of dizziness hit her and it looked as though Hodgins was falling to the side. She closed her eyes quickly. "Are you okay?" She waited before opening her eyes again, forcing herself to look down at the bones. Good, everything was back in the right spot again.

She did not dare to make eye contact with Hodgins, afraid that shifting her gaze would end her balance as well. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you find anything?"

She did not see Hodgins place his hands on her hips and stick out his chest in a gesture of pride! "I sure did!" He walked over to the computer next to the autopsy table and entered a few things in it, making a few colorful screens pop up. "The unknown chemical? It's hydrochloric acid. It was often used in acid throwing attacks against women in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is actually able to dissolve bones, but luckily it hasn't in this case."

Brennan felt her knees start to tingle, like they could buckle any minute now. Her lower lip trembled. All she could see was one hazy blur. "I think I should sit down for a minute."

Hodgins turned back to look at her. "Doctor Brennan?" He saw how she leaned forward on the autopsy table, holding herself up by pressing her weight on her lower arms. She had her eyes shut again and he could tell she was only seconds away from passing out. He abandoned the computer to get back to her.

"Hey Bones!" A man called as he entered the room through the glass sliding doors. Brennan turned her head to look into that direction and then everything turned black. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell down to the floor, hitting her arm on the table as it fell down against the metal below. She bumped the side of her head to the ground and then she was just lying there, splayed out in a deep silence. "Bones!"

While Booth made a run for her, forgetting to slide his card through the lock and setting off all the alarms in the lab, Hodgins crouched down beside her. "Doctor Brennan! Answer me, if you can hear. Come on, Brennan?" He carefully wrapped an arm underneath her head and raised it up so he could rest it in his lap. "Someone call the paramedics!" Hodgins called. People gathered around him very quickly, looking down at the pale woman that had her eyes closed, oblivious to the attention that she was receiving.

Booth pushed the audience out of the way roughly as he entered the circle where Hodgins was sitting, holding her head up. Without saying anything, he sat down next to them, shoved his hands underneath her armpits and raised her up from Hodgins' lap and pulled her unconscious body towards him. Her head fell back against his torso, her hair curtaining her face. "No need to call an ambulance. She's breathing!" Booth spoke in a loud voice. Then he looked down at her and pulled her chin upwards with his hands so he could see her face, cradling the back of her head on his elbow. "I've got you, baby, look at me. You're okay, Bones." He spoke in a softer voice, trying to maintain some sort of calm in his voice.

Hodgins was staring at them with wide eyes. He was holding her up like a lifeless doll and he was refusing to have her taken to the hospital? "Dude, she needs medical help now! She may need oxygen or whatever!"

Booth shook his head. "I know just who to call." He gently touched the side of her face with his finger. "Bones, wake up! We need you here with us again, wake up." In movies, you always see one person slapping the cheek of the unconscious person, but Booth could not imagine himself doing that to her. He ticked with his finger instead. "Come on, Bones!" He saw her wrinkle her nose and furrow her brow. "There you go."

When she opened her eyes, she looked up at Booth in confusion before she stretched her neck and noticed Hodgins and many other people towering over her. "Hey, you're back!" Hodgins greeted, reaching for her shoulder to give it a light squeeze. "You fainted, but don't worry…" Hodgins eyes bored their way into Booth's. "help is on its way." Booth just glared back at him.

Brennan sat herself up straighter, completely ignoring everyone that was standing around them. "Did you call Analeigh?" Brennan asked, reaching for Booth's collar as a dark haze fell over her eyes again. The dizziness had not passed completely yet. By wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Booth tried to steady her.

"Not yet, but I will." Booth pushed himself up with his other hand, so he was kneeling right next to her. "Do you think you could stand so we can walk to your office?" Brennan nodded. Hodgins quickly got to his feet as well, holding his hands out behind her so he was ready to catch her in case she would fall again. Booth slowly stood up straight again, holding Brennan as she moved with him.

Brennan smiled as she stood, wanting to prove to everybody that she was perfectly fine. Booth smiled back, glad to ease back into that comfortable place with each other, where they could look at each other, knowing they were fine. But then Brennan's eyes fell shut again and she fell forward. "Wow!" Booth caught her this time, with Hodgins holding her up by placing his hands on her sides. He frowned. It was hard to tell with her lab coat and other clothes on, but she did not seem all that skinny…

Hodgins let go of her when Booth leaned down to literally sweep her off of her feet. "What are you doing? Someone should check her out first! Can't you see that she is obviously not okay?"

Booth shook his head. "Don't worry, okay? I've got this. I will call someone, a medical expert and she'll find out what's wrong with Bones. Until then, I'm just going to lie her down on the sofa in her office." Booth made a gesture with his head, ordering the present squints to step aside and let him through.

Hodgins was not convinced. This was more than somebody just not feeling well; this was someone who was suffering from an eating disorder. The fainting was a terrible indication that her body could not take it anymore and her heart was under a lot of stress. "Who is Analeigh?" He demanded to know as he followed them to her office.

"A nurse," he replied and it was not even a lie. Hodgins folded his arms in front of his chest.

"And what does she have to do with Brennan?"

Booth eased Brennan down on the sofa and placed a pillow underneath her head. "Nothing, but I know her and she knows more about Brennan than a bunch of EMT's do, okay? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a phone call to make." Booth walked over to the door and closed it right in front of Hodgins' face. Shaking his head, Booth went back to look at Brennan. Outside the office, Hodgins fisted his hands angrily before he walked off too.

Brennan inhaled deeply before she opened her eyes and came to. She quickly recognized the furniture of her office and if it had not been her for slightly fragile state, she would have told Booth off for sitting down on her side table. Instead, she frowned at his worried expression. "What is happening to me?" Panic took a sudden grip on her. "Am I losing the baby?"

Booth wanted to tell her that she was not, but there was a chance that she could be and he did not want to lie to her in that case. "I don't know, Bones."

Brennan's breath caught in her throat. His words were raw honesty and she could feel it cut deeply into her soul. Her eyes teared up and she looked away. "Please call Analeigh."

Booth nodded and took out his phone. He had programmed her number right after the first appointment they had. It seemed really weird to call her in distress now, when yesterday at the grocery store, everything had seemed fine and lighthearted. He waited impatiently for her to answer the phone. When she did, he spoke rather quickly: "Analeigh, it's Seeley Booth. I'm calling for my girlfriend Temperance Brennan. She just fainted. Twice, and we're worried."

Brennan bit her lip and nodded in agreement. "The first time, she was just standing and then collapsed. The second time, I was helping her get up from the ground, very slowly and when she finally stood, she passed out again." Brennan folded her hands on her belly protectively and listened to Booth talking on the phone. He looked up eventually. "Bones, are you bleeding?" She shook her head. "Are you feeling heart palpitations or cramps?" She shook her head again. "No, she doesn't. No, she does not appear to be confused or slur her speech."

Brennan sighed. Maybe this was not as bad after all. "Do you want me to bring her over?" Brennan raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, you're coming over here? Do you know the Jeffersonian? That's where we are, it's where she works." There was another pause. "Alright, I'll meet you past the glass sliding doors. Oh, and Analeigh? Please don't mention to anyone here that you're a nurse-midwife. Nobody at work knows yet. I just said you were a regular nurse."

Brennan looked down at her flat belly. This was exactly the reason why she did not want anyone to know yet. If they did, they would have all been crowding her in her office now, worrying along with her. "Thank you. I'll see you soon." Booth hung up the phone and stared at Brennan, who was looking at him expectantly. "The good news is that fainting is common in pregnancy and doesn't necessarily mean that something is seriously wrong. The bad news is that she might have to send you in to the hospital."

Brennan wanted to prop herself up on her elbows, but Booth gently placed a hand on her chest to ease her back down. "No, Booth. I don't want to go anywhere! I want to stay here with you and be okay!" Of course, she knew what she was saying did not make a difference. If something was seriously wrong with her, nothing or no one could help her at this stage. Not Analeigh and not even Booth…

* * *

><p>Analeigh showed up in a sterile white nursing jacket, on top of a pair of faded jeans. She entered the Jeffersonian in quick strides, her eyes as serious and determined as Booth's voice had been on the phone. Her hair was bound together in a loose pony tail, with some playful strands peeking out here and there. Sweets, Hodgins and Fischer were looking down at her from the forensic platform. Fisher watched her with interested eyes. "Well, hellooo nurse."<p>

They looked at Booth walking over to meet her and talk to her in hasty words. They were standing too far off for them to hear. "Isn't she a little young to be a nurse?" Sweets wondered out loud, making Hodgins frown at him.

"Aren't you a little young to be a therapist?" Hodgins countered, although he did have to agree that she barely looked twenty. She was carrying a big leather doctor's bag in her hand and Hodgins wondered what she was going to do to Brennan in her office, where everybody could see her. "She's like you in 'female-nurse-edition'."

Fischer shook his head. "But she is way prettier."

The men were quiet for a while, until Booth gestured in the direction of Brennan's office. She nodded and together they walked off towards the office together. Sweets followed them as far as he could, by walking to the end of the forensic platform. "I think it's worse than Booth trying to help doctor Brennan with her eating disorder single-handedly." His brow was furrowed into a deep frown when he turned his attention back to the two other men in the room. "I think he's enabling her."

* * *

><p>"Your blood pressure is 125 over 80. It's perfect," Analeigh said, taking the stethoscope from her ears and unwrapping the cuff from Brennan's upper arm. "The pregnancy hormones cause your blood pressure to drop, because it relaxes the walls of your blood vessels. A low blood pressure is a common cause for fainting, dizziness or lightheadedness in pregnancy, so that was my first thought."<p>

Booth watched Analeigh scratch her nose before she went back to rummaging through her ridiculously oversized bag. "Is there any other possible clarification?" Analeigh now took out a small wallet. When she opened it, she took out a small meter and a tiny brightly colored pin. She unzipped another compartment to take out a bottle of small test strips. She opened it and inserted one into the meter.

"Hypoglycemia, which means low blood sugar. It could cause fainting and coma's even, in the most extreme cases. I'm going to need just one drop of blood from your finger, Miss Brennan." Brennan held out her ring finger and Analeigh cleaned it with an alcohol wipe, before cleaning her own hands too. She twisted the protective cover of a pin, to reveal a very small needle. She grabbed hold of Brennan's finger, pricked her with the needle and caught the drop of blood with the test strip on the meter.

While they waited, Analeigh cleaned Brennan's finger again, wiping the blood off. The device beeped, making all of them turn their heads towards it. "It's 92 milligrams, so that is good too. Your lab results last week came back normal, so you don't have anemia…"

Brennan looked at Analeigh in concern as she leaned in closely to examine her lips. When she sat back again, she touched Brennan's arm. "Beware, I'm going to squeeze you." And she did, taking hold of Brennan's skin before letting it go quickly. She thought for a while. Turning to Booth, she smiled again. "I take it you're still making sure that she's eating regularly."

Booth nodded. "Every three hours, six small meals a day." Brennan rolled her eyes at his superior gloating for looking after her so well. Analeigh then shifted her gaze towards Brennan.

"What about drinks?"

Booth and Brennan looked at each other questioningly. They had not been paying that much attention to that. Whenever she got thirsty, she would grab herself a glass of water or tea. She never paid much attention to its amount. "Um…I don't know exactly. I guess it differs every day."

Analeigh snapped her fingers. "Your dry lips and lack of skin elasticity indicate that you're dehydrated. It also fits with everything else mister Booth told me. Your occasional headaches, the nausea, even feeling extremely tired could be a symptom. The most important thing is that you start drinking, at least six to eight glasses a day. It can be a challenge with morning sickness, but it's really important."

Brennan nodded her head quickly. "I'll drink from now on. What should I have?"

Analeigh shrugged her shoulders. "It can be water or tea, as long as it doesn't have too many sugars or caffeine in it."

Booth finally allowed himself to smile back at the young midwife. "That's it? Nothing else is wrong with her?" Brennan did not say anything as she looked back up at Analeigh, expecting to hear something more, possibly something worse, but instead Analeigh shook her head.

"She has no fever, bleeding or cramping." Analeigh raised both hands up in the air, in an open gesture. "For now, there are no indications for me to believe that something else could be wrong with you. So, if you promise to drink as well as you eat, I won't be sending you to the hospital today."

In an impulsive gesture, probably partly induced by her raging hormones, Brennan leaned up to wrap her arms around Analeigh's neck. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I was so scared!" Brennan confided. Booth was still smiling. He had been terrified. Not so much for the baby, but for Brennan herself. He knew in his heart that he had come to love her. Again.

Analeigh chuckled. "No problem. It's what I do." She stepped back when Brennan was done hugging her. "But you have been warned. Keeping yourself hydrated is very important in pregnancy. When I see you on your next appointment, I'll be pinching you again. Just so you know…" She winked at Booth amicably before she collected all her devices and meters and put them back in her bag.

"Six to eight glasses a day. I got it," Brennan said. Booth got up from Brennan's desk chair to grab a water bottle that she kept behind the computer.

"I'll pour her the first one right now," he said, bringing it over to Brennan. She accepted it with a smile. Analeigh laughed.

"Alright then, my task here is done. I'll call you after the weekend, to check up on you," Analeigh dusted off her nursing jacket and grabbed her bag.

"Thank you!" Booth said. Analeigh waved one last time before she left the office and walked away.

Brennan sighed and unscrewed the cap from the water bottle. She took a sip as Booth watched her like a guardian. She looked up so she could look him in the eyes. "Once I've finished this…" she paused for a while, letting the curves of her mouth curl up slightly. "I would like it very much if you would take me somewhere where I can kiss you, where no one can see us."

Booth felt the familiar fluttering in his stomach start up again. "Why wait?" He questioned as he reached up and leaned over the couch to close the blinds. He was going to kiss her until she almost passed out again… from lack of air, this time.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: See? I told you it wasn't Lupus! I absolutely would have loved House to pop up in this chapter, but I couldn't make that happen without damaging this story's credibility. House would have to be temping, interning or take over Analeigh's shift or something…and wear a nursing coat. I'd say, move over David Shore, I have some fantastic ideas to keep the series alive!<em>

_So tomorrow I will be modeling and of course I have to go abroad. I'll be home late and exhausted, so I suggest you follow me on Twitter(AllysonHale), if you'd like to find out when I'm posting the next chapter. Go ahead, I won't bite! The most I will do is throw some of my bad humor at you._

_Tomorrow: Brennan's out of town (hey, what a coincidence!) and she talks to Booth on the phone. What do they talk about? And…what's the aftermath of Brennan's fall to the ground?_


	16. Week 10, day 2

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: Back in thunderstorm-y Netherlands after a modeling shoot in beautiful Rome. Here's the belated chapter, rather short because I've barely had any time to write. Thank you, Twitterfriends for being so understanding!_

Week 10, day 2

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><p>When Brennan came back to her hotel after an entire day of listening to other people speak about forensic science, she walked straight to the bedroom to drop down her overnight bag, turn on the lights and close the blinds. She was exhausted. It was raining cats and dogs outside, with the occasional rumble of an impending thunder storm. Her legs felt tired, even though she had been sitting for most of the day and her shoulders were killing her. Today was the day of the convention where she had planned to speak with Vincent. When he was killed, she decided to withdraw herself from the speakers' list and go as a guest instead.<p>

Her hotel room was nothing fancy. She had a small sitting room next to her bedroom, with a small television. Her bedroom had a small wall closet, a desk without a chair and a double bed. Brennan unzipped her bag and took out a pajama pants and a spaghetti top. Not wasting any time, Brennan took off her trench coat, vest and blouse with one hand and then looked at herself in the mirror next to the bedroom door. Her belly still looked flat; if it had not been for all the pregnancy symptoms, she could have fooled herself that nothing was growing right below her heart. Brennan placed her hand on her stomach and rubbed it slightly. It was too small still. It could not flutter or kick or give her any physical sign of life. She found herself looking forward to the time that it would.

She turned herself back to the bed and took off her bra, before pulling the tank top over her head and straightening it over her stomach. She sat down on the bed to take off her shoes and socks, before getting back up again. She quickly unbuttoned her pants and kicked it to the floor and yanked on her pajama pants absentmindedly. She had not called Booth yet. She hoped he was still awake.

Collecting her clothes, Brennan placed them on top of her bag and took out her cellphone from a compartment on the side. Automatically dialing Booth's number, Brennan walked back to the bed and sat down against the pillows. She shuffled her bare feet underneath the covers and waited for him to pick up.

"Booth." He answered the phone gruffly, making Brennan smile.

"Hi," she said, resting her left arm on her lap. When she glanced down, the discoloration caught her eye and she raised her arm up to examine it any further. It had been hurting all day, so she had tried to do everything with her right hand as much as possible. Only now did she see the yellow and blue bruises that ran up and down the underside of the arm. She stretched it and wriggled the fingers of her hand.

"Bones! How are you? How's Atlanta?"

Brennan carefully laid her arm back down again. There was not much she could do about it now anyway. It had been tingling ever since she fainted yesterday. She had probably hurt it when she fell down. "It's very wet." She said, with a sigh. "But I'm okay, Booth. How about you?"

"I'm okay, stretched out on my couch, watching a game. Did you eat and drink enough today?" Brennan could hear the sounds of his television shouting in the background. She could almost picture him in his living room, dressed in his jogging pants, holding a beer in his free hand.

She rolled her eyes at his concern. "I did. You don't have to worry." He had offered to fly with her and come with to the convention, but she knew he would only fall asleep during the lectures and make her look foolish. Yet, now that she was here in this empty room, she realized how she had gotten used to his presence and how much she enjoyed seeing him several times a day. It was true what they say: You don't know what you have got until it is not there anymore. "I miss you."

The words left her mouth unexpectedly. She had not even meant to say them. Through the phone, she could hear him take a deep intake of breath. Hearing her say these words was very close to her declaring her love for him, he knew. "Well…I miss you too, Bones."

She looked down at her arm and felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Those damned hormones. She was lucky that she did not have a nervous breakdown at the lab yet. "I—" she started, but she did not know what exactly she was trying to say to him anymore.

"Listen. Tomorrow, I have Parker. Shall we come and pick you up from the airport? He loves looking at planes and he really likes you, so I think he will enjoy that." Brennan felt a fluttering in her stomach, definitely not fetus-related.

"You think so?"

"Yes!" Booth said convincingly. "It will be nice. We can get an ice-cream together, maybe play a little soccer in the park later…" Brennan heard him shift on his couch. "And maybe, if you are really nice, I'll kiss you afterwards."

Brennan chuckled. "You better, or I will just kiss you…" Brennan thought back to her conversation with Angela, "when you least expect it."

"Oh," Booth cooed. "That sounds exciting."

Brennan pursed her lips together in amusement. "You bet it will be."

Booth chuckled and then got more serious. "Did you have a good day? No more fainting spells?" Brennan tried to push herself up against the pillows, but opened her mouth in a silent yelp at the sharp pain that coursed through her left forearm. Maybe it was more than just a bruise after all. A contusion, possibly?

"No, I'm fine, Booth. I told you." She forced herself upwards by putting her feet flat on the mattress and pushing herself up. "It's just a little bit strange to be here without Vincent. Sometimes I see someone with his back turned towards me and then I think it's him. Only, when he turns around it's obviously not him." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm being irrational. I know."

"No Bones, it's very understandable," he spoke in the reassuring voice that never failed to comfort her. "You had this planned with him for months, only to have it taken away from you in a matter of a few seconds. It's normal for you to feel at loss."

She bit her lip, trying to fight the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "If you were here…" she took a deep breath. "I would have wanted to lie down with you again." This empty bed was starting to look less appealing to her by the minute, but it was way too late to catch a flight home now.

"Hey, hey, hey, Bones. I am there, right there with you. Right now. Not in person, but in spirit, and I've got my arms wrapped around you tightly."

Brennan frowned. "That's really not possib—"

"Yes, it is! Do you know how you can tell? You can feel me in your heart." Brennan realized he was speaking in metaphors again, but for now, she was willing to accept anything he said that could make her feel better. "All you have to do is think of me and I'm there with you, because I'm thinking of you too."

Brennan tried to swallow the lump of emotions that had lodged itself in her throat. "I'm acting like a child, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Bones. I just think you're a little bit homesick." Booth said. Brennan thought about it. She often left Washington for six months at a time, to go digging in mass graves and identify victims of genocides. She never encountered any problems before. Why would she feel homesick after a single day right now?

It was because of Booth and Booth alone, she knew. Their relationship had changed and he had become connected to her in a very special way. All it took were a couple of weeks. He was right. She missed being home with him. "I think you're right."

"You should go to sleep now, baby. Catch a flight back in the morning and I will come and pick you up with Parker. Just text me the time we'll have to be there and we'll be waiting for you at the arrivals' area tomorrow. Okay?"

Brennan smiled. The distance between Atlanta and Washington had never seemed this big before. "Alright." She tucked her cell phone between her shoulder and her head to reach up with her good arm to flick the switch of the lights.

Now covered in darkness, she enjoyed hearing Booth's voice talk to her. "Sweet dreams, Bones. Eat and drink well in the morning for our baby, alright? It shouldn't get hungry while you travel."

"Me and our baby will be fine, Booth. I'll take good care," Brennan said, lying back against the pillows and dragging the covers up to her chin.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Booth pressed a kiss to his phone, making Brennan laugh out loud. "Goodnight, Bones."

"Night, Booth." She closed her phone and set the alarm for the early morning. Mentally, she was shaking her head at her own vulnerability. How odd was it for someone like her to miss someone so intensely so quickly? Was that another example of her hormones at work? On the outside though, she was glowing. She was going to spend her Sunday with the Booth Boys and she was sure it was going to great.

Brennan placed her phone down on the nightstand and laid her painful arm on the pillow above her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Everything was going to be alright. Tomorrow, she would be home again.

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><p><em>AllyH Notes: Maybe, if you can motivate me enough through reviews or Twitter (AllysonHale) I might write another chapter tonight. Possibly, because I just got home from Rome and I already have to hurry to my next dinner appointment with my agent. So, let me know if you're reading andor enjoying this and I might feel extra motivated to put some extra effort in another chapter today. _

_Tomorrow: Booth and Parker meet Bones at the airport. How will it go? Will Parker pick up on the different tension between them? Is playing soccer really such a good idea? And how will Brennan's arm feel after another day?_


	17. Week 10, day 3

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: 42 people sent me love on here and another dozen or so on my Twitter. Of course I couldn't back down anymore! Here's your second chapter of the day, with much love from the author (which is me!)._

Week 10, day 3

"_We don't have to try to think the same thoughts. We just have a way of knowing everything's gonna be okay." – Aly & AJ, 'On the Ride'_

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><p>Booth had kept his promise. As soon as Brennan turned around the corner of the arrival's hall, she heard a young voice call 'Bones' and saw a child jump up and down, waving his hands desperately to get her attention. Brennan raised her hand and waved back as she smiled, letting him know that she had seen them. Booth was standing right behind him, smiling a small smile too with both of his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. Brennan exhaled shakily as she walked towards them, feeling happy inside, but not daring to let it show too much.<p>

"Bones!" Parker made a quick run towards her and then wrapped his arms around her legs, not yet being able to reach her waist. Brennan leaned down and ruffled his hair with her right hand. Her left arm was stinging like crazy. The pressure up in the air had not done in much good. It was even slightly swollen now.

"Hi Parker! You're getting so big!" Brennan said enthusiastically, before looking up at his father. His warm eyes met hers and she could literally feel her heart skip a beat. "Booth…" she started, not quite knowing how to greet him otherwise. When Parker released her, she suddenly did not care about the public setting anymore or the fact that Parker still had no clue about her with his father. All she knew was that she needed him intensely and she wanted him now.

With two steps in his direction, she was close enough to grab him by his lapels and fuse her mouth with his. Completely ignoring the fact that people could see them, take photographs and alert the FBI, Brennan closed her eyes and pressed him as close to her as she possibly could. Booth kissed back, but only for a few seconds before he pulled away ever so slightly. "Bones…" he said, pecking her lips. "Do you know where we are?"

"I don't really care," her breath ghosted against his face. "Maybe you could make me forget?" She suggested, before he smiled and leaned down again to kiss her passionately, one hand reaching up to cup the back of her neck.

Meanwhile, Parker's smile widened even further. Clicking his tongue, he decided that today had already started out perfectly. _Finally_, his dad understood which woman was perfect for him and Parker himself too. Even at the age of ten, he had known that. He jumped up again in a giddy chant. "Daddy and Bones, sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

Booth felt Brennan smile against his lips before she broke away and took a step back from him. "I'm sorry Parker. I'm just—"

"Daddy's girlfriend." Booth quickly filled in for her, before he stepped towards Parker and squatted down in front of him. "Me and Bones, we got together and now she is more than just my partner." He cocked his head to the side to carefully examine the expressions on his son's face. "Is that okay?"

Parker let himself fall forward against his father's chest, almost making them fall over. Parker wrapped his arms around his neck and looked up at Brennan behind him. "That is fantastic! Are we going to live with you now, Bones?"

"Um…"

"Parker." After a few seconds of hugging, Booth drew himself back so he could look his son deeply into his eyes. "This is more than just us using Bones' pool. She will be a part of our family. One day, she could give you a baby brother or sister and extend our family. It's that serious, Parker."

Parker shrugged his shoulders and continued smiling in a way that reminded Brennan very much of Booth himself. "I would like a brother. A sister not so much, but I promise I would be nice to her too." He looked back up at Brennan who was biting her lip absentmindedly. "Welcome to the family, Bones Booth!"

* * *

><p>They walked through the park with Parker right in front of him, kicking pebbles ahead of him as he licked his ice-cream in content. Booth was carrying Brennan's overnight bag on his right shoulder. Brennan had her right arm linked through his left. They had bought a soccer ball at the airport, which Booth had put into Brennan's bag for the time being. Right at the center of the park was a cleared field where they had enough space to run free.<p>

Booth yanked Brennan over to his side with his arm, when a man on a bicycle nearly ran her over. With widened eyes, he looked at her to make sure that she was really okay. "Bones, maybe you should walk on my right side, huh? All these bikers and skateboarders are coming from the left. They could hurt you."

Brennan shook her head with determined eyes. "No, I'll be fine, Booth. This side suits me well enough. I'll just have to be a bit careful too." She lowered her eyes as she stepped to his side again. Booth narrowed his at her. He got the sense that she was hiding something again. There was something she was not telling him, which usually meant that she was hurting somewhere and was afraid to be honest about it.

Parker was humming children's songs in a happy and undisturbed bliss. Booth was glad at how well he had taken the news. He was not sure if Parker had fully understood how big this news was and how it changed everything between him and Brennan, but he decided to let it rest for a while. The mind of a child worked in mysterious ways sometimes and if Parker had any questions, he would be sure to ask them. He glanced over to look at Brennan. "Do you want to tell him?"

Brennan shook her head. "No. We might get his hopes up if we tell him now and in this first trimester anything could happen still…" She bit her lip. "There is so much that could still go wrong at this point. I can still miscarry and lose it all!"

Booth pulled her closer against him by tightening his arm. She sank against his side a little as they walked. "Hey Bones, that's not going to happen that easily. We've got you and me and Analeigh and together, we're to do our best to make sure everything goes alright, just the way we planned it, alright?" Seeing his calm expression, she could not help herself but be comforted by him.

Suddenly, Parker turned around to look back at them. "So when did this happen?" He asked, startling both Booth and Brennan. Booth had to think of something suitable for all ages quick.

"One evening, after a colleague of ours died, Bones came to my place to talk. While we talked, we accidently leaned a little closer to each other and we kissed. That was basically the start of everything," Booth enlightened him, glad that he was not even that far off from the truth. He just left out a couple of details.

Brennan did not say anything and just watched Parker, his curly hair and his open smile. She had never imagined herself with a child like that, but now that she was pregnant, her mind was taking leaps with her rational thoughts. In ten years, they could be walking here and playing soccer with a child of their own. Parker would be a big brother and an example. Life would be so different. Would Booth and her still walk arm in arm like this? Would he still be picking her up from the airport and let her kiss him?

Parker raised both of his eyebrows. "Did you two have sex?"

Booth paused in his steps instantly, frowning at his son in shock. "What? Who taught you about that word? It's a bad word, you must never mention it again, alright?"

Brennan looked from Booth down to his son and noticed that he was just looking for a legitimate answer. "No. No, we did not." The only reason why she lied was because she knew that Booth would feel really embarrassed and would even have to act like a prude in front of his son. Booth opened his mouth to say something in protest, but his son spoke up first.

"Why not?" Oh damn, now Brennan would have to think of some excuse too.

She straightened her shoulders and squeezed Booth's arm reassuringly. "Because it's not the right thing to do before marriage." Booth could not help the half smile from making its way up to his face. That was exactly something that he could have said to his son, if this conversation had not made him feel entirely uncomfortable.

Parker cocked his head to the side as they continued walking again. "So does this mean you two will get married?"

Booth reached forward to pet his son's head lovingly. "Who knows. Maybe someday, huh?"

Brennan looked down again and thought back to a situation one and a half year ago. Marriage, she had said, you needed a good reason to enter into and she had never found that reason. Being here, with Booth and Parker, feeling happy just because they were near, made her question everything she had ever said about love, marriage and procreation. Maybe love was not rational. One day you would just realize that you felt it and had it in you. The same thing could go for marriage; Booth could be her reason, maybe she would realize that too some time.

"There it is!" Parker saw the field and quickly ran off towards it.

Booth let go of Brennan's arm. "Hey, wait up!" He called after his son in a chuckle. He sprinted after him, making Parker put even more effort into speeding up and outrunning his father. Brennan stood still and saw Booth wrap his arm around his son's waist and twirling him around in the air as he finally caught up with him. They both looked carefree as they laughed at each other. Parker shouted at Booth playfully, begging his father to put him, which Booth refused to do, of course. They both ended up on the ground, romping on the grass.

Brennan blinked nervously a couple of times, daring herself to voice her first emotional realization. "I think I'm in love with you," she said to the empty air in front of her.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so here's the rules, alright? Bones' bag over there is one side of the goal. Bones, if you'd just take of your coat, we'll make that the other goal post. So, one of us is a goal keeper, the other two have to try and get the ball through the two posts to score, alright?" Parker and Brennan nodded at Booth's instructions on the soccer game. Booth handed Parker the ball, who kicked it and immediately ran off with it. Booth then moved to stand behind Brennan and helped her take her coat off.<p>

Minor panic gripped her throat. Damn, she had not been wearing long sleeves underneath, what was she going to say now when he would see her arm? "Booth, what are you doing?" It was unnecessary objection to delay the inevitable, she knew.

"I'm taking off your coat, like a real gentleman would." As he slid the fabric down her arms and she winced at the slight discomfort of any movement against the painful limb, she knew he was not going to let it go as easily as she had tried to. She heard his sharp intake of breath and she bit her lip, hoping he was not going to alert the entire park of her injury.

He gently placed her hand on his as he pulled her arm backwards. "Bones?" He spoke in that worried voice that could metaphorically break a heart. "What happened to your arm?"

Brennan turned herself around and Booth let go of her carefully. "I think I hurt it when I fainted two days ago. It's no big deal, just a contusion of the ulna, I think."

Booth's eyes widened. "You think? You haven't had it checked? Bones, we need to get you to a hospital right now! For all we know, you're walking around with a broken arm, trying to play soccer with it." Booth looked over to Parker, who was running after the soccer ball by himself, oblivious to the scene that was taking place right in front of him. "We should get you to the emergency room right now."

"No, Booth. Not now." She protested, but he was already holding out her coat again.

He could barely keep his eyes off of the bruise. How was it possible that he had missed it? Even when she kissed him at the airport, she had only grabbed him with one single hand. She had been acting nonchalantly ever since she got off the plane. "Bones, your forearm is twice the size of your right and it's every color of the rainbow. We need someone to take a look at it, baby."

Brennan shifted her feet on the grass and frowned at him in despair. "I'm alright with getting it checked, Booth, but please not today?" He frowned back at her. "I have been looking forward to this, doing activities with you and Parker. I don't want it to end yet, Booth, please! Parker is having fun and so am I. It really won't matter if I wait another day. Maybe tomorrow, it will feel better."

Booth saw the determination in her eyes and he slumped his shoulders forward. He could not deny her happiness. "You can't play soccer though," he reminded her.

She shook her head. "Of course I can! Nothing is wrong with my feet. I'll just be a bit more careful."

Booth sighed and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "Alright, Bones, but tomorrow, we'll take you the hospital." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear lovingly, stroking a finger across her chin in the process, before he walked off towards Parker. "Hey Parks, I'll be the goalie first. You and Bones can try to score."

Brennan entered the field too and waited a few feet away from the goal. Booth had crouched down again in front of Parker. "Remember though, not to kick the ball in Bones' stomach. She has a couple of broken ribs and her left arm is hurting."

Brennan rolled her eyes and laughed out loud. "Really, Booth? Another medical condition and you're going to have to put me in a nursing home!" He smiled brightly as he looked back up at her again and she felt herself relax again. She was going to kick his ass with Parker's help and make sure he would never forget it.

And later at home, she was going to kiss him some more and fall asleep in his arms. She now knew exactly what she missed about him, when he was not there and she would gladly give up any future digs if it meant she could stay with him. Yes, Temperance Brennan had changed and she was slowly becoming aware of it.

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><p><em>AllyH's note: Aww…so fluffy. Though kissing at the airport probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, with her being in the media and all. Yet, would you be able to help yourself with such a good looking man in front of you? <em>

_Feel free to leave me feedback here in a review or on Twitter (AllysonHale). You are all appreciated and I'm so glad every time to read that people are actively following this story. THANK YOU!_

_Tomorrow: Booth forces Brennan to get her arm checked. Will it just be a contusion? Will it need amputation (haha!)? And what is the confession that Brennan has for Booth? _


	18. Week 10, day 4

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: I was just musing on Twitter today how perfect Booth and Brennan would be for ballroom dancing. I was reminded by two demented elderly shuffling past my office. Totally unrelated to this chapter, but I just felt like sharing the image of Booth and Brennan dancing the tango together. _

Week 10, day 4

"_I don't tell anyone about the way you hold my hand. I don't tell anyone about the things that we have planned." – Ingrid Michaelson & Marshall Altman , 'Parachute'_

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><p>Brennan had secretly gotten out of bed at five A.M. to put an ice pack on her arm. She had hoped it would ease the swelling a little bit, so that she could later convince Booth that her left forearm was not as bad as it had been before. The truth was, she was not worried and she did not want him to worry either. She comforted herself in the fact that if it had been broken, she would be the first to know. Booth somehow, was not as convinced. He considered her to be a lot tougher on her health than she needed to be. That is how, on a slow Monday morning, they ended up waiting in the Emergency Room together.<p>

Brennan kept playing air piano with her fingers as they waited in a separate curtained area, as if she was trying to prove to Booth that nothing was wrong. He watched her from the corner of his eyes, but did not say anything. She had made him a promise to get it checked out and he was keeping her to it. He would rather hear that nothing was wrong and that he had been overreacting out of his protectiveness for her rather than not knowing what was going on at all and straining her at work.

A light brown-haired doctor in his early thirties had come to check her out first. He had introduced himself as Doctor Jansen and then asked her what had happened. "I'm pregnant," Brennan started. "…and I fainted a couple of days ago due to dehydration. I think I may have hurt my arm in the process." Booth did not say anything. He had been standing at too far a distance to be able to see what had been going on.

"Alright," the doctor said, as he grabbed a chair and sat down right in front of Brennan. "If we have to take an x-ray, it will be important for the technicians to know that, so that they can protect your stomach area accordingly. The radiation from a single x-ray is not that high, but we want to make sure that we take the best safety measures to prevent any possible problems for your baby, okay?" He smiled at her reassuringly.

Brennan smiled back. "Thank you." The doctor than reached for her for her forearm and Brennan let him. She had taken off her vest so he could take a good look at the bruising and the swelling. He moved her wrist and her elbow and put some pressure on different parts of her arm. He took careful note of Brennan's facial expressions.

Doctor Jansen kept a blank face, which had Booth worried and calm at the same time. "So how far along are you?" The doctor asked in attempt to distract her as he was pressing down on a particularly painful spot on the underside of her arm.

"Ten weeks," Brennan managed to croak out, swallowing the discomfort in a heroic effort.

"And a half," Booth added, winking at her. He held out his left hand to her, so she could take it with her right and squeeze it if she felt the need to . Brennan took it, but just rested their clasped hands in her lap instead.

The doctor smiled at the intimate gesture. "Is it your first?" He pressed down on a nail from one of Brennan's fingers and watched it as he quickly let go, the white skin underneath quickly turned pink again.

"It is," Brennan confirmed. "It's very excited and very new to me." She glanced at Booth. "I still learn new things about pregnancy every day."

Doctor Jansen chuckled. "I just had my first kid three months ago. It is a very special experience, let me tell you." Brennan smiled. Funny how now that she was paying attention to it, everyone around her seemed to have kids or are having kids. She could barely take a walk through the park with Booth, without seeing pregnant bellies everywhere. Her train of thoughts were interrupted when Doctor Jansen raised up his own right arm to mirror her left. "Can you move it like this?" He moved his elbow and then his wrist.

Brennan did as she was told, biting her lip at the stinging pain from her arm. She followed his movements with her eyes and followed his lead, like a good student. "Moving the joints does hurt, but it hurts the most in the middle of my arm. Right here." Brennan pointed to a spot on her forearm, where the skin was shaded an angry color of blue, as opposed to the yellow bruising further towards her elbow.

"Okay, I'm going to try something that may hurt a little." Doctor Jansen placed his hands on either side of her forearm. Brennan sat up straighter. Doctor Jansen raised an eyebrow and looked at her in sympathy. "Are you ready?"

Brennan nodded. "Yes." The doctor first pushed both of his hands away from each other, stretching Brennan's skin, before he pushed them back together. That is when she felt it. Something moved. "Damn," she cursed, looking at Booth who was watching her with his worried expression. He was wearing that face so frequently nowadays; by the end of the pregnancy, his face could be wrinkled in a permanent state of concern.

"Did you feel that?" Doctor Jansen asked.

Booth nearly jumped up from his chair. "Feel what?" He looked from the doctor towards Brennan and then back to the doctor again. Brennan hung her head in defeat, just looking down at that annoying arm.

"I fractured my ulna. A closed and complete fracture. Non-displaced, I imagine, because I can still move the joints." Brennan answered, sighing and shaking her head. She had had no idea.

It was Booth's turn to raise both of his eyebrows. "I don't know what that means."

The doctor smiled sadly. "We still need x-rays to confirm, but it looks like your wife broke one of the two bones in her left forearm. Because the skin is not broken, we would speak of a closed fracture. The fact that I could slightly move the bones away from each other, suggests a complete fracture; the bone is broken in two completely. Non-displaced means that the bones are still aligned properly, but I can only tell for sure by looking at the x-ray." When he finished explaining to Booth, he turned his attention back to Brennan. "Are you a doctor?"

Brennan was about to protest on him calling her Booth's wife, but she did not see the use of that. "Not a medical one. I'm a forensic anthropologist. I work with bones."

"…of dead people," Booth added in a low voice. Doctor Jansen nodded, before gently smiling at her, not even frowning at Booth's extra information about Brennan.

"Alright. Let's get you to radiology first and then I will bring you the x-ray so you can look with me, okay?" The doctor winked before he got up from the chair and set himself to filling in the necessary paperwork. Booth and Brennan looked at each other as Booth gave her good hand a small squeeze. She shrugged her shoulders and pressed her lips together. As they waited once again, she leaned sideways, so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

* * *

><p>They made Brennan wear a protective apron for her x-ray. It looked very much like a bulletproof vest, but this one was longer and blue. Booth stood behind the glass with the technician as Brennan was sitting in front of a small table, on which her arm rested in a pose that could capture the bones of her forearm very well. All the while, she looked Booth and he was staring back at her.<p>

After about three different x-rays, Brennan was freed from the apron and she walked back to the emergency room with Booth. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he escorted her through the hallways. Neither of them said anything, until they were back in their curtained cubicle, waiting for doctor Jansen.

As Brennan sat down, Booth watched her carefully. "I'm glad we came here today, Bones. Otherwise we never would have known the severity of your arm." She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"It still would have healed eventually. Now, if it indeed turns out to be broken, they're going to put a cast around it." She sighed. "That's bound to make my life even more difficult. Vomiting, fainting and breaking an arm… you would think I've been through it all now, right?"

Booth sat down next to her and rubbed her back soothingly. "Hey, you don't have to worry. I'm here, okay? I won't leave your side. I'll help you with everything you need." He paused for a second, before continuing his speech. "I can be your friend and your taxi driver or your pack-mule that carries your bags…"

Brennan turned her head and faced him with such a strong intensity in her eyes that Booth stopped talking immediately. There was a tightness in her jaw and her brow was furrowed. "Booth, I have to tell you something, but I don't know how you will respond to the news."

Booth's mouth dropped open as her voice broke and he noticed the quivering of her lower lip. All playfulness was instantly gone from his face. What was going on? "Bones, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" He saw her take a deep breath and look away, quickly wiping tears from her eyes that had appeared in a matter of seconds. "What?"

She shook her head. "I probably shouldn't tell you yet…"

Booth scooted closer to her, on the edge of his seat. "Bones, you can tell me anything, you know that. I can't tell you how I'll respond if I don't know what it is." She bit her lip and then released it again. "Hey?"

"I find myself in love with you." She managed to get it out in a stutter. "Very much. I was only gone for one day and I really missed you, Booth. Everywhere I go, I picture you with me and a baby." She swallowed nervously. "And I'm happy when I'm with you and when you kiss me and I don't want these times to end." She took a deep breath and wiped more tears away. Booth reached out for her hand and pushed it away so he could rub the wetness from her cheeks with his own thumbs.

"Oh Bones…" he said, looking her deeply into her eyes. "I love you, very much, too." She took another deep breath as she just stared at him. "How could you have ever doubted that? All that you're feeling, I'm going through that too." He pecked her lips quickly. "Every single thing."

Brennan closed her eyes before she leaned forward too to wrap her arms around his neck, the painful one resting carefully on his back. Booth rubbed her back soothingly, smiling into her neck. He had everything he ever wanted, right here in his arms now. Doctor Jansen took this wonderful timing to push the curtain aside and walking in on them. "Oh, should I return later?"

Brennan shook her head and let go of Booth. "No," she said. "I'm fine now."

"Hormones…" Booth rationalized.

The doctor nodded his head unconvincingly as he sat down in front of them again with a yellow envelope. He took out the x-rays and held them up towards the light, so that they all could see. "Well, the bad news is that the ulna is broken indeed. Good news is that it's a stable fracture, so I don't have to set it and you're not going to need surgery. I do want your arm in a cast though, but your elbow can remain free, so only your movement in your wrist will be limited."

Brennan reached up to point at the break line with her finger. That uneven crack in the bone suggests a blow to the arm. I must have hit it on something. The straight line behind it indicates I snapped it afterwards," Brennan looked at Booth. "It started out as an incomplete fracture, but then I put too much force or weight on it and then it broke through." She dropped her hand back in her lap. "I did it myself. I'm lucky I didn't displace it."

Doctor Jansen nodded. "That would have complicated things even more." He put the x-rays down and replaced them in the folder, before turning his attention back to Brennan. "I suggest we leave the cast on for four weeks, then x-ray your arm again. If everything's looking good then, maybe we can take it off then and you can wear a brace for the remaining weeks of your recovery. These are more comfortable than casts, but for now, we really have to protect it from any further damage."

Booth and Brennan nodded in synchrony. "So, we'll schedule an appointment in four weeks. I have clinic hours every Monday and Thursday from noon until four. I'll do the check-up with you then, okay?"

* * *

><p>Another forty-five minutes later, Booth and Brennan finally left the hospital. Brennan refused to wear her arm in a sling, so her arm was just hanging down her side. The cast was a bright blue; she had picked the color that matched her lab coat, which had made Booth laugh. She tried to hide it by pulling her arm back in the sleeve of her trench coat. She felt uncomfortable showing others her injuries.<p>

"Bones, you're only human. You get hurt. It happens to all of us," Booth tried to reason with her. A wind struck up as they entered the parking lot and Brennan's hair was blown to cover the sides of her faces, so Booth could not see what she looked like now.

"I just think it looks bad! Now, I can't get entirely naked for the next month…" she said.

Booth laughed. Oh, that is what this was about? He stepped in front of her to place both of his hands on her upper arms, before placing them at each side of her face, pushing her hair down. "Well, you've never looked more sexy to me." And as she raised her eyebrows and started frowning, Booth leaned in and quickly kissed all her doubts away. He was going to prove to her that he did love her more than anything, very soon.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: Poor Brennan, but lucky Booth. Now he doesn't have to come up with any more medical conditions to excuse her for something. Anyone here who watches Nurse Jackie? I kept seeing Doctor Jansen as the more mature version of Dr. Cooper…<em>

_Tomorrow: Brennan's presence is requested at a crime scene that hits a little close to home. How will she manage, now that she is pregnant AND has a broken arm? _

_Later this week: Sweets has found a place for Brennan in an eating disorder clinic... Not going to spoil anything more about it, because I'm evil. _

_Please leave a review or a tweet (AllysonHale), even if it's just a 'GTFO, your writing has the quality of a seventeen year old analphabetic'. I'd accept that. People say I don't look older than that anyway… _


	19. Week 10, day 5

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: WARNING! This chapter is rather emotionally-laden. Some of you might not like it at all (and I'm sure you'll let me know). The song below fits it perfectly. Read this chapter and you'll understand._

Week 10, day 5

"_Time is gonna take my mind and carry it far away where I can fly. The depth of life will dim my temptation to live for you." – Elisa, 'Dancing'_

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><p>"Be careful, Bones!" Booth warned her, as he grabbed hold of her right forearm, steadying her as they entered the apartment with protective covers around their shoes. The floor was wet and slippery. Booth did not want to know what it was the substance was. Brennan extended her casted arm for balance as she carefully stepped past the puddles with Booth. The room looked very dark as all the curtains were closed. On the ceiling, two dark circles had appeared. The furniture was simple, but very neat. No pieces of paper were on the floor, no toys lying around…it almost seemed like a broker's model home.<p>

They were met by one of the officers on the scene. The sign on his uniform read 'Parker', which struck Booth as an odd coincidence. The man himself luckily looked nothing like his son did. His black hair and brown eyes gave him a rather stern look. "You agent Booth?" He demanded to know.

Booth showed him his badge and identification card. "Yes, that's me." He gestured to his girlfriend. "This is my partner, doctor Temperance Brennan."

"Hello," Brennan greeted absentmindedly. She breathed in and out through her mouth, hoping nobody noticed that. The smell was terrible and Brennan could not remember that she had ever found a crime scene this nauseating. Maybe there was an open window somewhere? Booth glanced at her in concern, he could tell that she already started looking a little greenish. He would escort her out if it would turn out to be too much for her.

The officer nodded his head. "You're not going to believe your eyes when you see this. This was like a fucking modern prison." He walked with them to the living room, where crime scene technicians were busy dusting the place and taking photographs of the scene. One of them was sitting on his knees, in front of the refrigerator in the kitchen. Brennan raised her eyebrows.

"We came here because the owner of this place, mister Tames, failed to show up for work, an entire week in a row. He worked for the Metropolitan Police Department. He did not call in sick, does not answer his phone and his brother eventually reported him missing. Neighbors called the police today to complain about the smell. We got ourselves a warrant to check his place out and then we found this mess." Officer Parker held his hand up. "The body is upstairs…or what is left of it. CSI's are checking out his car."

Brennan stepped ahead of them and looked around the room very carefully, letting her eyes move over every surface in this room. He had an open kitchen, just like she did at home. She did not have a second floor, however. Her mouth nearly dropped open when she noticed every single drawer in the room was locked. Even the windows were all shut and sealed. Looking up at the refrigerator, she noticed how the handlebar were locked together by a biking lock. She cocked her head to the side, a vague memory coming back to her. _"Temperance, you cannot take anything from the fridge without asking, you hear?" _She shook the thoughts away.

Booth placed his hands on his hips. "Did anyone else live in here or was he just paranoid of a fly breaking into his property?" He secretly kept a close eye on Brennan, who was having trouble snapping on a latex glove on her good hand. The cast had been even more limiting than she had thought it would be. She could still use her fingers, but not the palm of her hand and grasping things had become rather difficult. He decided to step up and help her.

"He had a wife, she was Ukrainian. She got her degree in the US and was an FBI consultant as an entomologist ten years ago. Then she quit suddenly and she has not worked for anyone anymore. No teaching either, no kids here at home." Parker shrugged his shoulders. "Lord only knows what she was doing all day."

Booth finished helping Brennan with her single glove and made sure that he did not look up at her as he stepped away from her. If any of the people around here, especially the FBI agents and detectives, found out what was going on between them, their ties would be severed at once. "Neither of them have been seen out and about anymore?"

The officer shook his head. "No. Credit cards have not been used, car is still out here in the parking lot. Something fishy is going on here."

Brennan pointed to the phone standing next to the sofa. "The cord is missing. The phone is disconnected." _Why would you need to use the phone, Temperance? Who would you need to call? You don't have anybody! _She knelt down besides the couch and tugged at the drawers underneath the side table. They would not budge. She sighed. Where were the newspapers or mail? A big television rested on a design cabinet. There was a remote control in front of her on the table, but she could not find a guide anywhere. A crime scene technician saw her reach for the controller.

"Don't bother. Even the television is locked by a four-numbered code." He shook his head in distaste. "Why would anyone do this? Nothing is accessible. What if you'd cut yourself and want to get a band-aid from a drawer very quick?" Brennan did not answer that as she got back on her feet again.

She looked to officer Parker, standing next to Booth. "I'd like to see the body now, please." She glanced back at the kitchen, even all these cabinets were locked. What could be in there that needed any hiding?

Parker gestured to the left of the kitchen. "The stairs is right over there. You'll see the body as soon as your up there." Booth and Brennan both crossed the living room and passed the kitchen. The only thing that did not seem to be locked or sealed was the microwave. Booth went after her on the stairs, ready to catch her in case she miss-stepped or anything like that. Booth groaned as the smell hit him. This was death in its purest form: a scent of diarrhea, mixed with rotten meat and the stench of bile fluids. He coughed and covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief that he kept in pockets for emergencies such as these.

Pausing on the steps, Brennan turned back to examine Booth, her own concern for him shining through. "Are you okay?"

Booth nodded his head. "I am, are you?" She gave him a half smile before she nodded and continued her way up the stairs. Booth grinned behind his handkerchief. He saw that she already looked a little greenish, but that she was trying her best to cover it up. Just like she had tried to do with her arm… When she had made it to the top, she saw more technicians surrounding a spot on the floor and she approached them somewhat hesitantly. "Hi, I'm doctor Brennan, forensic anthropologist. I'm here to examine the bones, but I'm going to need your help." She waved with her casted arm. "I only have one hand I can use."

"I'll do it!" A young enthusiastic woman jumped up, wearing a blue jumpsuit. Brennan nodded.

"Thank you."

Booth took a quick look at the body. It was nothing more than some bones in a brown puddle, with maggots and flies surrounding it. Nothing that he had not seen before, ever since he started working with Brennan. Establishing that this person was most definitely dead, he decided to check some of the other rooms, while Brennan busied herself with mister or missus Smelly over there. He entered what he believed was the main bedroom, when he saw a double bed in the center of the room. The room was a sterile white, again with all curtains closed. He felt as if he were looking at a hotel room add, again with everything tucked away in drawers and closets. Officer Parker had followed them upstairs and was standing in the corridor overlooking everybody in the different rooms. "Hey!" Booth called to him. "Have any of these keys been found yet?"

Parker shook his head in reply. "Negative, agent Booth."

"Darn." He cursed. There was absolutely nothing to see here. Their entire life had literally been locked from the outside world. Was it pre-meditation, paranoia, the strong need to live in absolute seclusion? He walked out of the bedroom and into a study room, where another big brown stain had formed itself on the beige carpet. Booth raised an eyebrow. "Has the body been moved?"

"Not to my knowledge." He replied. Booth slumped his shoulders forward this was not starting to look well. There could be a second body, but where would it have gone to?"

"Check this out!" Booth heard somebody call from Brennan's room. He quickly walked back to them, to find Brennan looking up at one of the technician blowing against the window. Letters appeared in a broken scream of condensate. 'GET ME OUT' it read. Only three syllables, but it was enough to make everyone in the room go quiet.

Brennan's lower lip trembled. Suddenly, she was right back in that trunk of a car, slamming her fists against it from the inside, kicking the sides until her toes bled. _Help me! Get me out of here! Someone, please…!_ She gasped for air and quickly turned her attention back to the body on the ground. "The size of the skull and the round orbits of the eyes suggests it's a female. The bone elements on the skull have fused, so she has to be at least twenty years of age. This length of the forehead is a European characteristic, so it's very possible that she's Ukrainian. This could very well be officer Tames' wife, but I'll have to examine the bones further at the lab to know for sure."

The young woman helping Brennan by carefully moving the skull in different direction so that Brennan could see, took a deep breath. "Oh my God…" Brennan looked up at her questioningly. "Her husband locked her away and isolated her like a caged animal."

Brennan shook her head. "No, you can't make assumptions like that yet. It's all conjecture at this point!" Frowning, she continued her analysis stubbornly. "The body is transferring from the stage of black putrefaction to the stage of butyric fermentation . There is still some flesh left, but it has turned rather creamy. Exposed parts look black. Bones are already showing. It's really hot in here, which is going to make it difficult to determine time of death. "

Booth watched Brennan rattle off her preliminary and kept a close eye on her facial expression. She looked nauseas, but something else appeared to be bothering her too. He decided to stick around, pretending to take notes on what he heard her say, but really just because he wanted to be around her in case she snapped. "You should take a photo of her hips. Her gait has widened significantly, which means she was carrying or has carried a child. No extra set of bones are present here, so I suspect she already had a baby."

Officer Parker checked his own notes as he came up behind Booth. "Officer Tames does not have any registered children. Neither does his wife…" _Sometimes you piss me off so much that I feel I could kill you!_

The woman helping Brennan gasped another 'Oh My God' and Brennan stood back up. She took a stumbling step forward and Booth already prepared himself to make a run for her, in case she would faint again, but she found her balance after a couple of seconds and took off her latex glove by hooking the fingers of her broken arm underneath it and pulling her right arm back. "I need to get some fresh air." Without making any eye contact with anybody, Brennan stepped around the body and the crime scene techs, past Booth and officer Parker and she headed down the stairs.

Officer Parker frowned at Booth. "I'll go after her, check up on her. She got her arm in a cast just yesterday; she still needs to learn how to cope." Booth excused her, before he went after her. Brennan had gone right out of the back door and into the garden, taking off her shoe covers at the door. She took a few deep breaths as she entered the cool morning air, but she was already beyond the point of getting herself together. She ran over to the fence surrounding the garden and emptied her stomach near a tree. Booth hurried by her side.

"Bones, hey!" He gently pulled her hair back as she stood, hunched forward, trying to get the gagging under her control. "I'm here, it's okay. You're okay, baby." He tried to soothe her as he rubbed her back in slow circles. He forced the worried look off of his face to avoid looking like he was too involved with her. Brennan burped one more time, but she then straightened her back slowly and stood up straight again. "Feeling better?"

Brennan sighed. No use lying to him anyway. She squinted her eyes against the sun and walked to the other side of the garden with Booth. There was an area of plain grass, but also a well-kept pond with a tiny fountain in the middle. It was surrounded by pebbles and colorful flowers. It looked nothing like the coldness that they had witnessed inside the house. "Not really," she admitted. "A law enforcement officer and a former FBI consultant. This could be us in a couple of years, Booth."

Booth shook his head as he listened to her. "No way, Bones. I don't understand what's going on here yet, but I'll tell you this: We're okay. Alright? That woman rotting upstairs, was not. There may or may not be a baby somewhere out there and she may or may not have been kept hostage by her husband, but all these things scream dysfunctional to me. Us, we're just fine." Her eyes met his and he knew he was getting through to her. She was really listening to him.

"We are," she confirmed, before looking down. "and I don't have any important doubts about that, but when I was in there… I kept thinking of my foster parents."

Booth narrowed his eyes at her as she sat down on a rock on the grass. "Tell me about them." He pleaded, because he wanted to know everything about her.

Brennan waited for a few seconds, trying to make the loose thoughts that ran through her head into a chronological story. "One of them believed that good parenting meant discipline. Strong discipline. Every day after school, they made me sit at the same table with my back straight and my neck poised and watched me do my homework. I got three hours a day to do all my work. If I needed longer, I was just out of luck. We ate at seven, sharp and then I had to help wash the dishes. I got to take a shower and then from nine o' clock onwards, I had to be in bed, even though I was seventeen.

"I wasn't allowed to partake in any social activities. I couldn't go to a friends' house and I couldn't bring anyone or anything home with me. I became an outcast very quickly." She started tugging at the ridge of her cast. "I missed prom. I missed everything."

"Oh gosh, Bones…"

She continued. "If I did something wrong, I was isolated. The trunk of a car was one example. I've been in the basement more often. I was never physically punished. I was just put somewhere, not knowing what was going to happen and when I would get out. Every time, I wondered if that was going to be the time that they would forget all about me and I was going to starve to death." She swallowed nervously. "Sometimes, I even wished for that."

Booth looked at her with his arms crossed in front of his chest. If he ever had the chance to get his hands on those people responsible, he would not be able to oversee the consequences. His gun was almost itching in his pocket now. If they had been anywhere else, he would have taken her in his arms and kissed her very softly.

"Knowing that this woman could have possible been going through the same thing angers me, Booth! I've never felt so strong about a case before."

He crouched down in front of her. "Do you want to stop working this one? Cause that would be alright, you know? I understand. I can make everybody else understand too. We'll just tell them about your broken arm and—"

"No." Brennan cut Booth short. "I want to help you solve this one. I think…it might be very good for me."

Booth saw the conviction in her posture and it convinced him of all the strength which she kept telling him that she had. "Then I won't stop you."

Relief washed over her face. She was glad that she would not have to fight him on this and at the same time, she was happy that he now knew about this. He was starting to learn everything about her and it felt good to be so close to someone. She trusted him more than anyone else. "I think I'm ready to go back inside. We do have to report that I just contaminated the garden, though…"

"Don't worry about it." Booth said as he watched her get up again and dust the back of her jumpsuit off. "I'll help you."

"I know you will. Thank you, Booth." What she meant to say was that she loved him, just for being him and always knowing what she needed. He did not just let her get her own way; he listened to her and let go of his own beliefs so he could meet her needs. She was not a people person, but she had come to know Booth as well.

"You're welcome, Bones." They headed back to the house with the back of their hands touching, but only they themselves were aware of how intimate that gesture really was.

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><p><em>AllyH's Notes: Wow, this was rather heavy to write! I really do hope you like it, I put a lot of effort in it! Thank you for all the kick-ass reviews and tweets on my previous chapter. Lucky author, that is me, with so many loyal readers. <em>_Obviously, this case if far from over. Do you want to read more about? Could you not care less? Be sure to let me know!_

_Tomorrow: 20__th__ chapter! So, you may review or tweet me (AllysonHale) your chapter themes again. Remember people, single words please, not summaries. If you want to read what I made of them last time, check out chapter 11. I like challenging themes, so give me your best shot! _


	20. Week 10, day 6

**Hiatus**

_AllyH's note: So, long theme list ahead. Thank you everyone for sending your ideas and all your love for the previous chapter! _

_From reviews:_

_ - WhatHurtsMeMost's Analeigh AND moodswings – I'm never a fan of made up characters, but I do love her! Brennan with mood swings just makes a good laugh too. _

_- Itsgoose2u's hemoperitoneum – God, I love unfamiliar medical conditions *insert House MD theme song here*_

_- daffodil101's tractor – They drive me crazy too, when I'm driving behind one and I can't pass them_

_- raineorshine's rainy day – Because they exist _

_- Sumiko Mikazuki's kiwi – Gotta love 'em._

_- Dr. AllieCameron's Taylor Swift AND doritos – Have you ever youtubed B&B and Taylor Swift? Fanvids galore! Ever YT'd B&B and doritos? Yeah, I didn't think so…_

_From Twitter (AllysonHale):_

_- AuntTerriP's ocean – Oh, how we all long for it sometimes_

_- Courtney_Mae's macaroni and cheese - Because it's 'just how Booth likes it'. Or is it…?_

_- DrHQuinn's chocolate – It's such a multifunctional product…_

_So many great ideas, but I couldn't fit them all. Don't give up if I didn't pick yours! I'm pretty sure there'll be a chapter 30!_

Week 10, day 6

"_Why am I sitting in the middle of nowhere, standing here with nothing to do, wondering if I really love you? Uh-oh, I guess that I do." Caro Emerald, 'Stuck'_

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><p>Brennan was not having a good day. Rain was coming in buckets from the sky and she had been stuck driving behind a tractor for what seemed like twenty miles. She could not swerve to the side to look past it, because traffic from the opposite direction kept greeting her. She could practically feel her blood pressure rising as she got herself all worked up. She needed to pass by the stupid tractor and she needed to do that now. She tapped on the steering wheel impatiently with the cast on her left palm.<p>

Just when she saw her chance to speed up and overtake the damned the vehicle, her cell phone started ringing. Distracted, Brennan was forced to stay behind it as she pressed a button on the digital screen of her car, accessing speaker phone through a Bluetooth connection. "Brennan." She called out, inwardly cursing the tractor as it slowed down even further because there were a couple of bumps in the road.

"Doctor Brennan, this is Cam. I called because I think I may have found your cause of death." This caught Brennan's attention. Even though several of the bones had showed healing fractures, she had not been able to establish any significant trauma on the bones that could have led to the victim's immediate death.

Brennan bit the inside of her cheek as she thought back to the scene that she had witnessed yesterday. She had woken up sweaty and exhausted this morning as she saw the images displayed before her, even in her sleep. "Good," Brennan said, not quite knowing what else she could say. She was so caught up in thinking back to the case that she momentarily forgot all about the slow driving.

"The uterus, or what was left of it, has been completely ruptured. This typically happens during late pregnancy or child birth, but I didn't find any fetal remains." Brennan heard Cam shift through the telephone, probably still working on the body as she spoke to Brennan. "I found a huge amount of blood between the internal lining of the abdominal wall and the internal abdominal organs. She bled out internally, slipped into a hemorrhagic shock and then died. In short, cause of death is hypovolemic shock due to hemoperitoneum resulting from uterine rupture."

Brennan needed a couple of seconds to take it all in. The victim, who she could not help but identify with, bled to death. She had possibly been in a significant amount of pain and must have been scared for her life, but she had been so caught off from the outside world that she had not been able to reach out to anyone for help. Maybe her husband had known that she was not okay, but decided not to do anything about it. The victim's helplessness was almost palpable to Brennan and she grew frustrated once again. "Goddamn it, get the fuck out of my way!" She yelled to the driver in front of her, although she knew he could not hear her. She pressed the horn and made a rapid waving movement with her casted arm.

Cam could, however, and as she paused her examination of the body, she looked ahead with startled eyes. This was the first time she had ever heard doctor Brennan curse out loud. Her explosion just came out of nowhere. "Do you want me to hang up?"

Brennan sighed and took a deep breath before she replied: "No, I'm not talking to you. There's just this tractor in front of me, slowing me down to eighteen miles an hour."

"Should you even be driving with a broken arm?" Booth had asked her the same question and Brennan went right back to her defensive mode.

She looked at her digital display angrily. "It doesn't say anywhere that I can't. I can place both of my hands on the wheel and maneuver the car just fine!"

On the other side of the line, Cam raised her gloved and bloodied hands in defense. "I'm just trying to look out for you, doctor Brennan!"

Brennan cocked her head to the side. "Well, there really is no need." Realizing that she was being a bit harsh to Cam for no real reason, she exhaled very slowly. "I'll go tell Booth." She twitched when she had to slam the breaks again to stand still behind the tractor as he waited and took his time to pass an intersection. "Please, turn off my road!" She pleaded to the back of the tractor.

Cam raised an eyebrow. "Well, have a safe trip." The line was disconnected and Brennan was back to staring through her windscreen angrily as the wipers did their best to keep it clear from the rain. Once the intersection was clear and the tractor still made no effort to pull up, Brennan turned her car to the left and overtook him quickly, fighting the urge to turn her head and look at the driver angrily. This was DC, for God's sake, not some faraway agrarian village.

Just when she had crossed the road and was free to speed up to fifty miles an hour, her phone started ringing again. Brennan sighed and pressed the button to answer it again. "Brennan." She greeted as she entered downtown DC and had to slow down again because of a traffic jam in front of her. "Oh great."

"Hi, miss Brennan, this is Analeigh Daniels calling, your midwife. Am I calling at a bad time?" Bad time, Brennan thought, this was just a very bad day, possibly a very bad week. Still, she softened somewhat at the soothing voice of the young nurse-midwife. In the background, she heard a baby cooing and the voice of a man speaking to it in a high cheerful voice.

"No," she said with a sigh. "Now is a good time." She leaned back in the seat of her car and looked at the other cars that were standing in the line. Most of the people that she could see were driving alone, probably just getting back from work. The car in front of her had a car seat for a baby in the back. Brennan's heart swelled at the thought of her and Booth carrying a baby in one, driving together to whatever place they would have to go as a family. Noticing her quick shift in moods, she shook her head at herself. What was going on with her? She had been extremely angry five minutes ago. How could she expect others to take her seriously if she could barely manage to do so herself?

"I was just calling to ask how you were doing." Analeigh spoke, before laughing at something that took place behind her. "Have you had anymore fainting spells?"

Brennan blinked her eyes as she looked up to the grey skies. How was it possible to be so hot and clammy with a weather like this? "I'm doing good, Analeigh, thank you. I haven't fainted anymore since last Friday. I did break my arm though." The traffic started moving ever so slightly, only to come to a stop again after a few yards. Brennan rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Analeigh gasped audibly. "You broke your arm? How did that happen?"

"I must have hit it while I fainted." Brennan replied. "So now my arm's in a cast and Booth thinks I'm even more crippled now. Last night, he wouldn't let me wrap my arm around him, because he was scared of rolling over in his sleep and crushing it." Brennan tapped the cast against her steering wheel again. See? It was nearly unbreakable. It could probably hold two Booth's even. "…and he still won't have sex with me."

There was a sound of chair moving on the other side of the line and Brennan suddenly wished that she was home already. Her plan had been to quickly drive past a gardening center, to get Booth a white orchid. After all the times that he bought her daffodils and flowers, she wanted to do something nice for him too. Instead, she wound up on the worst day of traffic ever. She would almost start to believe that people were made of sugar these days. A little rain and they would melt into a puddle, so they needed the metal casing of a car to protect them. "I probably shouldn't be suggesting this to you, but I'm a rebel anyway…" Brennan sat up straighter and heard a man call a loud 'yes' in the background. "What if you make your injury work for you?"

Brennan raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Can't you tell him that you need help washing your hair or whatever? He'll probably offer to help you out. Then, when he enters the bathroom to help you, you can make sure that you're already naked and standing in the shower. Considering he is a man, I guess things will work out from there…"

Brennan chuckled. "You ARE a rebel!" She liked how Analeigh dared to talk to her openly and gave her real advise. Sweets usually spoke to her in riddles and it always left her feeling without a sense of direction.

"Of course, he's always welcome to talk to me about his…objections, but from what I heard from you, he might not really be open to that."

Brennan shook her head. "No, not really." Booth would probably flee the room as soon as she even mentioned the word 'sex'.

"Do you think you could come in next week Friday? We'll get you your next ultrasound. An obstetrician will be present too, because I then want to eliminate any visible birth defects and I haven't been doing that for too long yet." Brennan felt a nervous tickle in her stomach. A second ultrasound already? Time was flying by so fast, it seemed.

Brennan thought in her head about any possible plans she may have, but came up with none except for work. "Sure, what time?"

"Six fifteen?" Analeigh proposed. "That's when you and your partner have both finished work, right?"

"Yes, thank you," Brennan confirmed. The car in front of her pulled up again and Brennan was glad when she finally made it past the thirty miles an hours on her digital speedometer. It was only a matter of driving straight ahead before she would reach her neighborhood.

"Alright, I'll see you then. Remember to drink well!" Brennan promised that she would before she hung up the phone again. Unconsciously, her mind shifted back to their latest victim. She did not have a good man like Booth, who fed her and spoiled her rotten. Maybe her husband did want to have sex with her, but maybe she herself did not. Was it true? Was she left behind at home every day, not having control over anything? What was she supposed to do?

Brennan's thoughts were interrupted as her cell phone rang, again. All sadness waned as she just grew aggravated. Could people not leave her alone for one damned minute? Just a little moment of silence while she listened to the rain, ticking against her car rhythmically? She hit the button to accept the call with a little bit more force than necessary. "What?"

"Woah, Bones, simmer down! It's me!" Brennan relaxed her shoulders as she heard Booth's warm voice over the speaker phone. She managed to mutter a barely audible 'oh' under her breath as she ran a stoplight that turned red barely a second ago. She had done enough waiting for the day. "How are you feeling? Are you not having a good day?"

She sighed. "I'm having an annoying day. The victim bled out in her house while her husband is God knows where, there is a missing baby that could be dead or alive, the heat in my car is stifling and I am so tired that I even forgot to put on a bra today. Now, when the car is rocking, I am swaying too!"

Booth was quiet for a little while as he thought of the right way to respond to her frustrations. "I um… I'm at your house and I thought I should make you some dinner. What would you like?" He had intended to fix her a vegetable wrap, but if she was in a mood like this, he decided it would be best to let her choose, considering he valued his head.

"I made some macaroni and cheese yesterday, because I know you like it. There's plenty for us both, so all you have to do is heat it." She heard the sounds of a fridge door opening and closing and the rustling of aluminum foil. She smiled at the thought of him being alone in her apartment. Coming home had never seemed more attractive to her. She did not know why she was still on the phone with him as she heard him open a drawer and rummage through her cutlery, but it did not matter…until she heard him cough and drop whatever it was that he was holding in his hand.

"Bones! Did you put your vinegar cucumbers in this or what?" He coughed some more and Brennan could not hold back a laugh.

She finally made it off the busy road when she revealed her secret ingredient with pride. "No, it's kiwi. It gives a fresher taste to the dish!"

Something cluttered in the sink. She could feel him frowning at her all the way through the phone. "What are you, Masterchef?" Brennan was about to object that she was not, but he continued. "Come on, Bones, you don't put kiwi on macaroni any more than you put chocolate on your Doritos."

She smiled brightly. "I know what these are!" Then she got more serious. "I don't think I have chocolate or Doritos. Do you want me to drive past a supermarket and get it?"

Booth's voice croaked. "Please don't."

Brennan got the idea that he was mocking her and she felt offended. "Are you saying that I can't cook?" She snapped. "Because my sense of smell has heightened since pregnancy! I can now taste extraordinary things so I am a much better cook now than I ever was before." Indeed, he was just a moron for not _getting_ it.

Booth lowered the volume of his voice gently. "No Bones, all I'm saying is that food for pregnant people requires different taste buds than those of people who are not. Look, your food might just be too high standard for me, alright?" Brennan narrowed her eyes. Was he still mocking her? She turned a left and entered the parking lot of her apartment building. "I'll tell you what. I'm going to make us the best grilled cheese sandwiches this world has ever known and make sure yours has kiwi, pineapple or grapefruit, alright?"

Brennan grabbed her phone from her purse and turned off the Bluetooth function, so she could just hold the phone against her ear. "What about the macaroni?"

"Well…" Booth started. "we'll have that some other time. Maybe after three weeks when it's all mouldy."

Brennan rolled her eyes and turned off the engine of her car. "I find you very condescending. Goodbye." She ended the conversation and threw the phone back in her bag, before she looked outside. It was still raining. Maybe it was taking its toll on her mood. Oh, who was she kidding? She was out of control today in her emotional rollercoaster. Maybe Booth did not deserve her outbursts. He was only trying his best, making sure she got the right vitamins and carbohydrates in the right amounts.

Brennan made sure she collected her stuff in her bag, before opening the car door. No one had ever cared for her like Booth had. Not even her real parents had been this involved. She should be more grateful. Their victim had probably wished for a husband like Booth. Brennan quickly jumped out and ran to the building, up the stairs and to her front door. Shielding her eyes from the rain.

When she opened the door, she was met by the sound of seagulls and waves of water rolling in on a beach. A steamboat made a slight huffing sound in the background. Brennan raised her eyebrows. Booth left the kitchen as soon as he saw her in the doorway. "Hey Bones, I thought I'd put on some music, so I turned your radio on, expecting to hear Taylor Swift or something, but instead you had an 'Calming-Ocean-Sound-Effects' cd in it." Brennan thought for a while. She did not care about beach sounds or swifty music for that matter. Oh yeah, when Maggie visited her for Christmas, she did yoga exercises to that cd.

Not wanting to bring up the memory of her second cousin, Brennan shrugged. "I don't know how that got there." Booth helped her out of her coat and hung it on a hook for her. When Brennan looked inside, she noticed how Booth had gone through the trouble of laying the table. A white table cloth covered the table and on top, Booth had carefully laid out the plates and knives and forks. He had lit two candles and a single daffodil rested in a small vase. Damn, that reminded her that she had forgotten to take the orchid out of the car.

He turned back to look at her with a half smile. "I just made you a fruit salad instead. Cheese sandwiches are resting on the grill now." Brennan's eyes fell on a bowl of berries, pieces of pineapple and oranges, green grapes and passion fruit. See, these were just one of the things that Booth would do for her and she did not even have to ask.

She looked back up at him before she leaned up towards him and pressed her lips to his. She caught him by surprise a little when she did not waste any time deepening the kiss. She pressed her body close to his and rested her casted forearm on his back as her arms automatically found their way around his neck. Booth kissed back as soon as he knew what was happening to him and leaned his forehead against hers when they broke apart. "You're not mad anymore?"

Brennan shook her head. "No. Thank you." She kissed him again, very softly as their lips barely pressed against each other this time.

"For what?" Booth questioned. Was he missing something? Had she not been very annoyed and angry with him two minutes ago?

"For being you." She clarified, sliding her good hand to the front, so she could place it on his chest and feel his strong heartbeat underneath her fingers. He was here and he was helping in every way that he could. She would bring up the hair washing subject during dinner. No matter how bad her day started out, she found out that his presence could make a difference in the end. And in the end, only kindness mattered.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: I am SO tired that I don't even have the brain left to crack some wise comments anymore. Feel free to leave me yours instead.<em>

_This weekend, I'll be temping as an ambulance nurse(my specialty is actually urgent and acute care!) for three days. I'll work long hours in the evening, so I don't know how or when I'll post. Maybe short chapters? Maybe miss a few days? Which would you prefer? _

_Tomorrow: Brennan tries Analeigh's evil shower idea on Booth. Question is; will it work out the way she planned? _


	21. Week 10, day 7

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: After yesterday's mood swing-y Brennan, are you now ready for seductive Brennan? Then read on…_

Week 10, day 7 

"_Well, I'm stubborn and wrong, but at least I know it. I can move it along and hope I can get through this." – Vanessa Carlton, 'Heroes and Thieves'_

* * *

><p>Like Analeigh had predicted, Booth had kindly volunteered to help Brennan wash her hair. There was an anxious flutter in her stomach as she entered the bathroom in preparation of Booth. The plan was simple. He was waiting for her in the bedroom, expecting her to only take her shirt off, so that she could lean forward or backwards as he rinsed her hair. She had promised to call for him when she was ready, claiming that she had to shave her armpits first, while in fact she was stripping down to nothing and would make her way into the shower. He would not get to see her until she was already dripping wet under the shower, so he could not cover her as soon as he saw her.<p>

Brennan took off her clothing with a single hand; she was quickly becoming accustomed to having an arm in cast. She was lucky that it had not been her right one instead. As she shrugged off her blouse, she leaned forward and turned on the shower, letting the water run warm. She shed the rest of her outfit quickly and put a stool in the shower so that she could sit down in the shower and Booth could reach her hair more easily. That is, assuming they would ever get to that part.

Brennan smiled as she felt the warm water with the back of her. It was perfect, nice and stimulating. She placed a fluffy, long white towel on the heater and fixed a plastic bag over her left arm to prevent it from getting wet. Alright, she spoke to herself, show-time. Literally. Brennan carefully entered the shower and stepped underneath the warm spray. It felt good on her skin and relaxed the tension in her muscles. She closed her eyes and shook her head, throwing her hair back under the water. She bit her lip, knowing it was now or never. "Booth?" she called out. "I'm ready."

The door opened almost immediately. "Good, I was starting to get worried. Did you manage t—" He stopped dead in his tracks as he did not see Brennan bend over the bathtub, like he had pictured in his mind, but standing naked in the shower. The water glistened on her skin like diamonds on a light-colored ribbon. Booth quickly turned his back to her, willing himself to get his breathing back under control. "Bones? Why are you in the shower?"

Brennan grinned. She had a bath tub and a separate shower in her bathroom. Her shower stall was a bit small, but if she left the glass door open, there was more than enough space for another person to come and join her. She straightened her back, pushing her chest out, but since Booth was turned away, he could not see what she was doing in there. "I figured it was more effective to get showered and have my hair washed in one go." Well, he had better self-control than Analeigh had expected. She was going to have to think of something else. "I'll go sit down, Booth, to make it easier for you."

Booth heard her drag the stool closer to her and her wet footsteps as she moved to sit down. Good, he would be safe now. She was just sitting there, with her back towards him. He could handle that. If he kept his eyes focused on her hair, he would be fine. They would both be fine. Booth took a quick glance over his shoulder. Yes, she was facing away from him. Good. "Alright, what shampoo would you like me to use?" He had thought wrong when he thought it would be easier like this. Her back was small and tight, she had her toned legs stretched out ahead of her. When she looked at him over her shoulder, with eyes that just screamed naughty to him, he knew he was close to losing this fight.

"The lavender one is fine. I'll get it for you." Without any further warning, Brennan bend forward to grab the bottle from the ground. Booth noticed her spine stretching, her chest pressing against her knees as she leaned down and her hips raising up slightly in the process. That is when he put two and two together. She was seducing him deliberately. He should have known this would happen.

Booth chuckled slightly when she handed him the shampoo. Oh, do not worry Brennan, he could give as good as he got. He flicked the lid of the bottle and poured some of the purple gel onto his hand. "Alright Bones," he said, placing one hand on her shoulder and then carefully sliding it upwards to her ear, gently caressing the skin there, before he ran his other hand with the shampoo through her hair. He gently tugged at the strands of her hair as he massaged it in very slowly.

"Booth…" she breathed, as she inhaled a large gulp of air at the anticipation of him touching her more.

Booth grinned cheekily, which she was not able to see. He ran his fingertips along her scalp, teasing it in gentle slides. He took his time dividing the shampoo over her hair and he could feel her grow impatient. When he was done with it, he let her hair drop against her back and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. He then moved them down her upper arms in a teasing and suggestive gesture, leaving white shampoo traces behind on her skin. "So, who put you up to this, huh?" He spoke in a very soft voice, watching goose bumps appear on her arm. "Was it Angela?"

Brennan raised an eyebrow, but a smile appeared on her face. He was not easy to fool, but all of that did not matter as long as the outcome would be the same. "Analeigh did," she answered truthfully. She felt his hands come to a stop. "Angela suggested I would just attack you in your sleep." Brennan clarified.

Booth slowly reached forward to grab the shower head so that he could rinse her hair. He had to lean over her a little and he had to force himself to keep his eyes ahead of himself. "Analeigh?" He asked, confused and surprised. "The same Analeigh who's our midwife? The twenty-year old?" He started washing the shampoo from the ends of her hair.

"Booth, she already had a child. She's obviously sexually active…" Booth gulped, instantly deciding he did not want to talk about it any further. He shielded her eyes with his free hand as he sprayed the shampoo from the top of her hair. She extended her neck backwards so the water would fall down her hair instead of her face. Booth felt the urgent need to press a kiss to the pale skin there, but he fought it.

It had been months since he had first seen her naked, but it was weird how just now he noticed a few striking things about her body. For instance, she had a small birthmark, right above her rear. Her spine was very sensitive, because when he ran his fingers across it, she felt ticklish. She had a scar to her left side, just below her rib cage. There were many things he had yet to learn about her.

She requested him to shampoo her hair again, before using a conditioner and he obliged her without making any more conversation with her. The truth was that he wanted to, but since she was sitting there, in her birthday outfit, he felt very uncomfortable. It was easy now, to say something wrong or use unintentional innuendo. Booth thought Brennan was very beautiful and he reminded himself to think of something very non-stimulating. Decomposing bodies, mac and cheese with kiwi, therapy with Sweets, fleshy bones… Wait, what?

Brennan reached up to turn the shower off and Booth put the shower head back in its original place. Brennan got up and turned herself around, only to find Booth holding out the towel, shading her body from his view. Brennan laughed. The prudish side of him would probably never change. Maybe seduction was too obvious to him. She took the towel gratefully and wrapped it around her body, using her left arm to trap the fabric as she fixed a knot right above her chest with her free arm, so he finally dared to look at her.

Her hair was still dripping from the shower water, and tiny droplets ran down her shoulders and into the towel. Her eye lashes were stuck together and he realized that she was even more beautiful without make-up. He preferred her like this, in a natural and pure state. He approached her, wanting to help drying her hair, but first decided he would free her left hand from the plastic bag. Brennan followed his movements with her eyes and raised her arm as he gently tugged at its cover. Their eyes met when he looked back up at her, to make sure that she was not in any kind of pain or discomfort.

"Do you… do you need any help with anything?" Booth stammered. He reached out with one hand to rub the towel against her back, in an attempt to help her, or warm her. He was not entirely sure anymore.

Their eyes remained locked as Brennan took another step towards him, hesitantly. "I can think of something." She raised her chin up and stood on her tip-toes, so could she reach his face and gently press a kiss on his lips. It was different this time. Unlike all the other kisses they shared, this was a tentative peck as she softly molded her lips to fit against his. It demanded nothing, but offered everything as it was a clear invitation to come back for more.

Booth saw the emotional vulnerability in her eyes along with the deep feelings she had for him. This was no longer about arousal anymore. It had everything to do with their chemistry and the intimate connection that they shared. This was what he had been talking about all along. This was the difference between sex and making love. "But Bones, your arm—"

"…is protected in a cast," Brennan finished the sentence for him, letting out a ragged breath. "Booth, you can't hurt it anymore."

Booth thought, but only for a little while, because he was attracted to her like a magnet and he leaned in to kiss her back, this time with a little more pressure of the lips. "Okay," he said, making her smile brightly. "Okay." She remained quiet, so glad with his confirmation that everything was alright now and that they could finally be together again in the way they both had longer for, for quite some time.

Their lips met again and again as Booth unconsciously backed her against her washstand. As she steadied herself against the marble piece of furniture with one hand, she used her broken arm to wrap itself around his neck and pull him down closer towards her. As she widened her stance, Booth could step in between her legs before deepening the kiss. Brennan responded by pressing her body against his fully and Booth gasped into her mouth as the towel left very little to the imagination.

The kiss got heated very quickly after that. Their tongues danced against each other's as Booth placed both of his on her naked shoulder blades and stroked the sensitized skin there. Brennan let go of the washing basin with her hand so she could reach between them and start unbuttoning his shirt.

"We should try to make it to the bedroom," Booth whispered before he continued slanting his mouth over hers time and time again. Her eyes opened only to nod at him at his suggestion, but then they closed again as her hands finished undoing the last of his buttons. Booth shrugged out of his shirt, discarding it to the ground, before pressing her warm and slightly moist body against his naked chest. He let his hands travel down to her naked thighs and then grabbed them, pushing her up to sit on the washstand as he continued kissing her.

Once Brennan reached for his belt, they broke apart for a little while to smile at each other, their eyes glazed in the arousal that had spiked between them. The warm feeling in Brennan's lower abdomen intensified as he pressed his clothed lower body against hers. She arched her back as Booth sought out her neck, pressing tiny kisses to the side of it, earning a small moan from her.

During their frantic necking, Brennan's towel had become untied at the top and it was now trapped between Booth and her own body. Booth slid his hand from her back to the front, tickling the undersides of her breasts with his thumbs. She moaned again as he gently massaged the skin there, taking his time to re-explore her. Just a few more seconds, he told himself and then he would take her to her bed. Right now, the feeling of them close together like this was too enjoyable to give up yet.

Brennan was still fumbling with Booth's belt, but was a bit caught up in her own arousal. Booth's open mouthed kisses had trailed their way from her neck to her throat and back up to her lips and she did not want to break away to look down. He could undo it himself if needed.

Booth moved his hands up her chest and placed them to rest on her breasts, until… the doorbell rang.

Booth and Brennan broke apart as if they had just been caught in the act, staring into the direction of her front door. "Are you expecting anyone?" Booth asked with a sigh, knowing that they were forced to answer it anyway.

"No." Brennan said, shaking her wet hair along with her head. "Maybe it's my dad again." He had showed up announced the previous time. Booth swallowed nervously and grabbed another towel from a pile next to the washstand. He held it in his left hand as he covered his lower body with it.

'I'll get it. I'll just pretend to be…cleaning." He reached for his shirt on the ground and put it back on, irregularly buttoning it here and there. At this moment, he could not care that much about the way he looked as long as he was wearing something. "I'll keep him busy while you get dressed." Booth quickly left the bathroom before he got a chance to look at Brennan again.

She was left sitting there, slightly dazed by this sudden interruption. Damn, she had gotten so close too! Reluctantly, she stepped back down and grabbed her underwear from the heater. She stumbled a little as she put on her panties, fighting to get her left foot through the correct hole as she could barely grasp the material with the fingers on her casted arm. Her thoughts were occupied with what had just happened between her and Booth and what would have happened if it had not been for the stupid bell. Maybe, the next time he was here in her apartment, she would just turn it off.

She was still inwardly cursing every factor that could have contributed to their early separation from each other's arms, when Booth re-appeared in the door post of her bathroom. She had just fixed her bra and put on a light blue tank top as she looked up at him. For some reason, he was smiling. Did he really think this was funny?

"Your visitor," Booth started, chuckling again. "…was a Jehovah's witness. He came to ask if you have found God in your life."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe, if he had _not_ showed up, I would have." She complained. Booth had to stop himself from laughing out loud, realizing the irony. In his own religious beliefs, by sleeping with someone outside of marriage, he had been just about to defy Him.

"Maybe it's a sign." Booth teased her with a wink. He quickly walked off towards her kitchen as Brennan bent down and threw a slipper at him. She smiled a little at his comment. At times like these, she deliberately chose to ignore all possible signs.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: Poor Brennan. When will they ever get the privacy to really enjoy this new relationship?<em>

_I received news today that I was officially declined for the permanent position of head nurse. Even though I've been temping there for half a year, they say there have been people with a lot more experience than I am. My temping agency however, thinks it's about money, because hiring me there permanently means that the nursing home will have to 'buy' me from the temping agency. Oh well, I'm looking forward to a new challenge. Just wanted to thank EVERYONE who's been thinking of me. I'm going to enjoy being the only female EMT this weekend and forget about the nickname I've already been given there today (Albino, because of my hair and skin). _

_Tomorrow: Speculation on Brennan's condition continues when Sweets finds her a place in an eating disorder clinic. Sweets talks to the rest of the team on how he plans to intervene…_


	22. Week 11, day 1

**Hiatus **

_AllyH's note: Last long chapter for a couple of days. You, as readers have voted for short chapters while I'm busy, so you'll be getting these from tomorrow on. _

Week 11, day 1

_"Trying to keep it clear, but I'm losing it here, to the twilight." - Jewel, 'Standing Still'_

* * *

><p>Sweets carried a plastic tray to his office, balancing five cups of coffee on it as he closed the door behind him. For the first time ever, the room was actually full. Cam, Hodgins and Wendell were sitting on the couch as Fisher was leaning sideways in a chair next to it. The atmosphere in the room was laden with anxious anticipation. Sweets usually did not call them all in at the same time to talk, but the obvious absence of Booth and Brennan was a significant sign.<p>

Sweets sat down in front of them all, after he put the plate down on the side table between them. He leaned back in his chair with a serious face and placed his fingertips against each other. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've requested you all to come in today." They were all looking at him, but no one made a sound. Sweets cleared his throat. "Eh…it's about doctor Brennan. She is obviously not doing well and she needs professional help. More than I can provide her with."

Cam was the first one who leaned forward to grab a cup of coffee. She chose not to put any milk or sugar in it this time. She was going to need this shot of caffeine really bad. "What do you suggest?" She asked, before taking a sip of the warm liquid.

Sweets leaned forward dramatically. "Lately, I've been asking around and I have learned that a new spot is opening at a clinic, where they can help her with her eating disorder accordingly. She'll be watched constantly and they will teach her to accept herself again. I think it would be for the best if she went there."

"Wow!" Hodgins called out, his eyebrows raised in both shock and confusion. "Do you want to get her admitted?"

Sweets nodded. "Yes." Everyone in the office suddenly held their breaths as they looked at each other in contemplation. "Guys, she fainted last week and broke her arm in the fall. Can't you see how dangerous this is? It doesn't really matter what we say to her; she is determined to reach her goal weight, whatever it may be, in any way she can. We can't help her like this. I believe the clinic is the best place for her to be right now."

"Where is it?" Cam asked him, not really knowing how to respond to this news. Of course, she wanted her employee to be up and healthy, but this was a rather drastic measure.

"It's in Seattle. At The Center for Counseling and Health Resources. They can admit her on Thursday."

Another silence fell, before Wendell spoke up as he too took a cup of coffee. "Is that really necessary? I think the one thing that is keeping her together is her job." He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't get me wrong, I'm worried about her and I agree that the fainting could be a sign of severe self-neglect, but guys, admitting her will take her away from everything she's ever known. Including Agent Booth."

Sweets looked up at Wendell. "I think it might be good for her to be away from him for a while. It still doesn't sit well with me that he didn't let us call the paramedics the other day. He is deliberately trying to keep people from finding out her problem and I don't understand why."

Wendell shook his head. "Probably just to protect her image. Booth would never let her take unnecessary health risks."

"Then I imagine he won't object to her going away for a while, to a place where they can really help her." Sweets said, raising up his hands. "Here's what I think we should do. On Thursday, we all come together again, but this time we invite Booth, Brennan and maybe even Angela too. I'll make sure a taxi is ready and waiting outside. We confront Brennan with her behavior, but instead of judging it, we will just express our worry and our love for doctor Brennan. We need to motivate her into wanting to get better and that is all we can do for her. If she decides to go, she can leave immediately, without having the opportunity to change her mind first. If she declines and won't let us change her mind, there's nothing more than we can do for her but support her and hope that things won't get any worse."

Fischer decided to speak up for the first time ever since the meeting started. "So she has to go there voluntarily?"

Sweets nodded. "To have her admitted against her will would take a mental screening and a court order. Doctor Brennan's intelligence could fool anybody at this point. Her situation would really have to be life-threatening in order to manage that."

Wendell looked down at the coffee in his mug. "I'm still not sure. I think Booth can help her better than any of those shrinks out there."

Cam placed a hand on his forearm and squeezed it amicably. "That is probably what he thinks too."

Sweets could tell that the opinions about admitting Brennan were divided among the group, so he decided to recite the evidence. "Look guys, this is already spinning out of control. Wendell, you walked in on her vomiting. Doctor Hodgins, Booth brought her over unannounced to force a baby upon her. Cam, she even confessed to being on a diet and using pills in your face. We saw the mark on her hand, indicating that she repeatedly forces her fingers down her throat. Guys, you were there when she fainted! Not to mention that every time you speak to her, her mood swings like she's pregnant!"

"No," Cam said, shaking her head. "She can't be pregnant."

Hodgins scratched the back of his head before he turned his attention to his boss. "Why not?"

"Because then it would have to be Booth's!"

Sweets thought for a couple of seconds. It is true. He could not imagine Brennan being pregnant with someone other than Booth. That was obviously not the case here. Booth and Brennan guarded the lines between partners and lovers as if it was a crossing between right and wrong. "Okay, let's get back to the subject matter again. Brennan is ill and I think we should do our best in convincing her to get help." He fisted his hands and raised them up to his chest. "We need to make her feel supported and appreciated; a vital member of the team."

Wendell was biting the nail of his pinky fingers between his teeth as he raised an eyebrow at Sweets. "So how do you propose we do that? Write letters? Sing a song? Make a visiting schedule to ensure she's never alone anymore?"

Sweets bend forward and handed everyone their rapidly cooling coffee as he grabbed his own too. "No. Just like I said before. Act normal to her this entire week. Then on Thursday, come here at 2 P.M.. I'll invite her and Booth fifteen minutes later. And then…" Sweets sat back, looking them all in the eye one-by-one. "Then we'll do an intervention."

* * *

><p>In the meanwhile, Booth approached Brennan, who was sitting on the couch, with her feet resting on the table in front of her. They were at Booth's apartment and just had dinner together. Booth had cooked this time, spaghetti Bolognese, although he used fake meat instead. He came to bring her a steaming mug of tea to wash it down, but then his eyes dropped down to her belly and he stopped in his tracks.<p>

Brennan noticed his gaze and she looked from him down to her belly. There was nothing to see. She had put on a grey shirt that fit around her stomach and accented her slim waist. Of course, this had had absolutely nothing to do with her trying to seduce Booth by showing of her curves… "What's wrong Booth?" He put the tea down on the table, right next to her feet and then knelt down on the couch beside her. He was still staring at her tummy as he reached out with his index finger and poked her. Brennan raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

He was still busy poking her in different places on her stomach as he spoke up. "This! You didn't have this before!" Brennan had to squint to see what he was getting at. There was a slight swelling on her lower abdomen. It was barely noticeable and it could hardly be called 'a bump'.

Brennan laughed, for some reason she suddenly felt like kissing him. "Booth, I just ate and my bladder is full. If I go to the bathroom now, it will be gone again." But instead of leaning back, like she thought he would, he scooted down and placed his head on her clothed belly.

Booth listened intently, or felt, waiting for any sign of life in there. "No way." Booth argued. "Something alive is causing this. A tiny, tiny baby, perhaps?" He placed a hand right next to his face and rubbed the skin lightly on top of the fabric of her shirt.

Brennan chuckled again, making her stomach move and feeling Booth's head press down harder against her. "That can't be, Booth. It's way too small for that still." She held still for a while, softening her expression as she saw Booth so captivated by the moment that it was almost a shame to have to break this. "You're only putting more pressure on my bladder. If you don't get off now, I'm going to wet your couch." Booth reluctantly straightened his back and sat up again, but he was wearing that goofy smile on his face that she enjoyed seeing on him. "What?"

"When you get back, I'm going to take a picture of your belly with my cell phone and measure your waist with a measuring tape."

Brennan threw her head back in a laugh at the images that popped up into her head. "Booth, there is nothing to measure up, I told you!" She drew her legs up so she could place them back on the ground and stand on her feet as she straightened her clothes.

Booth placed both of his hands on his side as he looked at her. "That's what you say, Bones, but I have become very perceptive of you and your body." Their eyes met as they both realized the innuendo in his words. "I mean, well you know…"

Brennan shook her head and stepped forward to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "Whatever makes you happy, Booth." She walked past him and made her way towards his bathroom, swaying her hips just a little bit more than necessary. Now it was Booth's turn to laugh.

"I'm absolutely doomed." He spoke to himself, realizing that he had gotten so attached to her in a relatively short amount of time, that he had come to enjoy her teasing. He even started to like giving back a little, from time to time. He would plead his sins in church afterwards.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's note: I'm going to enjoy writing that intervention, I'll tell you now!<em>

_So shorter chapter from tomorrow on, because I'll be damned busy temping as an EMT. So now you know, if you need me, all you have to do is call the paramedics._

…_or you could just leave a review or hit me up on Twitter (AllysonHale) if you're feeling less adventurous. Via Twitter, I'll keep you updated on when exactly I post the new mini-chapters. _

_Tomorrow: While Booth is training at the gym, Brennan is writing her new novel at home. Thank God, they have cell phones so they can text each other. But what will they message each other about? Sweaty socks? Writing sex scenes? Their unresolved sexual tensions and frustrations? That all depends…on me! _


	23. Week 11, day 2

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: Can you imagine that this story now has 800+ alerts? Imagine having to send these out every day. That's a whole lot of people on your mailing list… _

Week 11, day 2

"_There goes some other fairytale. I wish it could happen to me, but I look at myself, wondering if I'm just too weak to have such faith in myself. You know I'm praying for it." – Liz Phair, 'Somebody's Miracle' _

* * *

><p>With the death of Vincent Nigel Murray and her pregnancy as an indirect result, Brennan's life had left little time lately to work on her newest book. That is why, on a cloudy Saturday morning, Booth had decided to go to the gym so that he would not distract her while she sat down behind her laptop and got to work. As Brennan was typing, she occasionally looked outside as if she could find her inspiration there. The truth was, that her last five paragraphs were lacking something. She did not feel involved with the characters, was out of touch with the scenery and the intimacy between Kathy and Andy was far off.<p>

Brennan sighed and rested her head in the palm of her hand. What was wrong with her? Was pregnancy started to take its toll on her creativity too? With a few clicks with her mouse and a single tap on the delete-button, she erased all her efforts from the past few hours. Maybe she was better off with writing about a case. Brennan thought back on the case they were working now. A Ukrainian wife, locked inside a house, everything sealed in boxes and cabinets and cupboards… Brennan sat up straighter. Yes, she could work with that.

After about a paragraph or two, her phone beeped twice, signaling a text message. With her eyes still glued to the screen, she reached for her phone with her right hand. A motive. What would drive someone to do such a thing to someone? Infidelity? Her eyes moved down to her cellphone. A message from Booth. '_Hey, how's your writing going? I'm already sweaty after just half an hour of training. I think I need to work on my condition more often.' _

Brennan smiled. Booth always used to run in the morning, right before work. Lately however, he spend his time fussing over her, what she would eat and how she was feeling. His morning jogging became more and more infrequent. She hit the reply button and texted back: _'Writing isn't going too well. I don't feel very inspired.' _She thought for a while, before adding another sentence. _'I'd rather join you in the gym.'_

It did not take long before she received a message back. Brennan glanced at her computer. She was never going to get anything done like this. She was more productive when he was around, physically. _'Maybe you should get Kathy pregnant. The readers would love that. And you can't come to the gym, you'd break your other arm.'_

'_Pregnant by whom?' _She asked. Kathy and Andy were currently not together, because the FBI had threatened to break them up. Now, both of the characters were suffering because both of them wanted to be together, but work was driving a wedge between them. Brennan knew that Booth had read her latest book, although he never discussed it with her. He respected her as a writer and it did not feel right with him to comment or criticize her work. What did he know about books anyway?

Brennan went back to her typing, the fingers on her left hand moving much slower than her right, because the damned cast was in the way. She managed three sentences before her phone alerted her again and she rolled her eyes in frustration. _'By special agent Andy Lister, of course! It could happen in the car, during a stake-out in the woods. One of them gets bored, decide to play truth or dare, and one of them gets dared into kissing the other. The kissing gets too heated and then BAM…a Kathy and Andy baby. What do you say, Bones?'_

Brennan laughed._ 'It would never happen like that.'_ She put her phone to the side and tried to concentrate even harder this time. Booth did have a point. Getting her pregnant would probably help her identify with Kathy some more at this point. After all, her own pregnancy was just as unplanned and unexpected. As she pondered the idea, Booth had replied again.

'_Why not? We happened too. Besides, what are you going to tell the media when they find out that you yourself are pregnant with an agent's baby?' _Well, that was going to be difficult, because they wanted to keep the FBI in the dark for as long as possible. Of course, there would come a time where she would not be able to hide her belly anymore, but Booth would act on the job as if he had nothing to do with that. Still, that was not the case in point here.

She placed a casted hand on her flat belly protectively. Scratching the skin with her fingers gently, she texted Booth back with her free hand. _'How many times do I still have to tell you that I am not Kathy Reichs and you are not Andy Lister?'_

His reply was quick this time. _'How many times do I still have to tell you that nobody believes that?' _Brennan blinked her eyes a couple of times at his strong headed counter. Booth was not a former Olympic boxer or a Harvard graduate. Everybody knew that Andy Lister did not equal Booth. Okay, she was ready to admit that maybe he inspired the character just a very little bit…

Brennan put her phone down, figuring that if she did not send a reply, he would just leave her alone and she could finally do the things she was supposed to. Outside her study window, four young kids were kicking against a ball, passing them to one another. Brennan smiled. The sound of their laughter was more beautiful than the music she would usually put on while working.

Less than a minute later, she received another text. _'It's okay, Bones. I still know you love me. You told me yourself : )' _Brennan did not know what the point was of the last two punctuation marks, but her mouth did drop open at his obviously alpha male attempt to make her look hormonal and lusting after him.

'_I did not say I loved you, I said I was IN love with you. Two very different things. Look it up.' _Pleased with her answer, knowing she outsmarted him once again, she happily returned to her fiction. The next message arrived after a few minutes. Good, seems like he had needed some time to think, this time.

'_Normally, yes, but you told me in an Emergency Room. That's where miracles happen, baby!' _Brennan furrowed her brow and shook her head at his word 'baby'. He liked calling her that. She did not even correct him anymore. They both knew she was not a baby. He had witnessed that fact himself a couple of months ago; babies could _certainly_ not do that.

Brennan sighed and replied once again. _'Don't you have anything to do? Because I sure do.' _Hopefully, he would now understand that she really had to get back to her work, instead of bickering with him through cell phone messages. He had managed to lift her spirits though. Brennan now felt more like working than she had half an hour ago. Her talks with him made a good source for inspiration.

She should have known he would reply, trying to get the last word. Two dominant personalities made for nice entertainment, as well as high cell phone bills. _'Alright, I'll get back to my work out. I'll see you in two hours or so. I love you, Bones.' _

He added that last sentence on purpose! And she knew it! She thought as she looked outside her window again. One of the children had wrapped his arms around one of the girls' waist and he lifted her up in the air for two seconds before putting her down again. Brennan decided that being a tease was a lot more fun. _'I'm in love with you too, Booth.'_

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><p><em>AllyH's note: Belated chapter, thanks to my tiring EMT shift yesterday. Let me tell you, these guys are worse than the men at the firestation I temped for! Luckily, I don't hesitate to give as good as I get…<em>

_Tonight, I'm working again. Maybe I'll upload another chapter, but it depends on my energy level and on you guys. Do you like a short chapter like this, or would you rather wait a few days for a longer one instead? You know you can let me know in a review or on Twitter (Allysonhale)!_

_Tomorrow/tonight: Booth heads out to the pharmacy, but for what? And who does he run into? Those of you who like Brennan's bulimia webisodes will love this one!_


	24. Week 11, day 3

**Hiatus **by Ally H.

_AllyH's Note: Belated chapter from yesterday. EMT-temping is lovely but crazy!_

Week 11, day 3

"_She calls my name, pulls my train, no one else could heal my pain. And I just can't contain the feeling that remains." – Sixpence None the Richer, 'There She Goes'_

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><p>Normally, Booth used his Sunday's to catch up on some rest, to play with Parker or to watch a game in the evening. His mornings all started the same. He would take a shower, put on his suit and go to church. There was a mass every week and he participated fully by praying, saying grace and ask forgiveness for his sins. Afterwards, he would go and grab himself a cup of coffee somewhere and think about this week's sermons. Today he skipped the latter to go to the pharmacy.<p>

When he had found Brennan nearly doubled over in pain this morning, his thoughts immediately went to the worst case scenario possible. Thinking it was a possible miscarriage, Booth had jumped right up, looking for his car keys, but she had eased him down, saying her tummy was only hurting because she had not been able to defecate for four days. He had offered to skip church, rub her back instead, or her belly, whatever she preferred, but she had refused both of his ideas. She just needed to go to the bathroom and she could do that without his presence.

So that is how Special Agent Seeley Booth wound up at a pharmacy on a Sunday morning, right after church. He avoided shopping on Sunday, just for the sake of honoring a sacred day of rest, but he could not let his Bones suffer. Not physically, anyway…

Booth walked past the shelves and looked at all the options of laxatives available. This was going to be a nuisance. If it had been for him, he would have blindly picked one of the boxes, but this was Brennan and she was pregnant. He wanted to avoid her cramping up even more or anything that could increase nausea. He sighed in frustration. He was no doctor. He had no idea which one of these were fit and which ones were not. He decided to ask one of the pharmacists that were walking around the store. "Excuse me, I need to get a laxative for my wife, but she's pregnant and I have no idea which ones are suitable and which ones are not."

"I'll come with you, sir." The pharmacist was a man in his mid-forties, someone Booth instantly trusted to give him some proper advice. As Booth followed him back to the shelve which he had been gazing at before, he glanced to his right, his eyes landing on a familiar person. Before the other person could recognize him as well, Booth ducked his head and shaded one side of his face with one hand. Oh, please. Not here. Not now. "Which trimester is she in?"

Booth dropped his hand as the man he was hiding for walked over to stand in the line in front of the counter, on the other side of the shop. Good, now all he would be able to see was the back of his head. "She's in her first, still." Booth smiled, thinking of Brennan in the future, with a baby belly. "Eleven and a half weeks."

The pharmacist looked up with a smile. "Congratulations, sir. This must be a very exciting time for the two of you!" He then turned back to the shelve, while Booth continued to think about Brennan. He had just called her his wife, without thinking. Why did he do that? Slip of the tongue? Wishful thinking? "Now, what you want to avoid are laxatives that contain mineral oil, castor oil or stimulants. Mineral oil could prevent the uptake of important nutrients into her body. The other two could cause premature uterine contractions, so that poses a danger even."

Booth started wondering whether a laxative was such a good idea after all. There were some very serious risks by using them in pregnancy. "I read that constipation is a very common side-effect of pregnancy, because the increase of the progesterone hormone relaxes the bowels. Is there anything that is safe for her to use, whenever she might need it?"

The pharmacist took out a blue package, with the brand 'Colace' written on it. "This one is a stool softener and she can take this without any problems. These are capsules, make sure she takes them with plenty of water. I'm giving you the one with the lowest dose, which is 50mg, but if that does not have the desired effect, she may take two. Directions say that she is even allowed to have four of them, but it's best not to take more than needed."

Booth took it and looked at it. 'Gives relief from occasional constipation'. Well, that was exactly what this was. "Thank you very much." Booth gave the pharmacist a kind nod before he turned around to walk to the counter and pay for the item…without thinking.

"Agent Booth! What brings you here!" Booth did his best to hold back the cringe at the sound of the voice he had really wanted to avoid. The man stepped towards him, holding a small white plastic bag. Maybe, if he could just step up to the cashier and pay for it and then immediately heading for the door, he would take the hint. After all, he was a psychologist.

"Sweets! Well, you know, I'm just buying some medicine here and then I'm going home. What are you doing here?" Booth stepped besides Sweets to stand in the line to the counter. Damn, this could take a while. Booth checked his watch. He was hoping Brennan was not feeling worse than when he left her in the morning. God, he probably never should have gone in the first place.

Sweets glanced down at the package in Booth's hand and raised an eyebrow. "Are you having trouble going to the bathroom, agent Booth?" Booth looked down at his own hand, before frowning.

"Not me, Bones is." Booth looked around the shop. No other counter was open and it was rather busy on a Sunday morning. He was not able to make a quick escape from here. "Why are you being so nosy?" Booth did not like it when Sweets failed to mind his own business and butted into Booth's instead. Unfortunately, he did that quite often too.

Sweets glanced from left to right, before he leaned in towards Booth and spoke up in a low voice: "I know what's wrong with doctor Brennan."

Booth's eyes widened and he licked his lips nervously. "You do?"

Sweets nodded in confirmation. "Of course I do. I'm a psychologist, I'm supposed to notice these signs and signals."

Booth looked down at his shoes and stepped forward as the line moved on towards the counter. Well, the secret was bound to come out someday anyway. Maybe Sweets could help. After all, is that not what psychologists are for? To help people in distress? "Well, since you found out about her, maybe you can help me help her." Booth offered.

Sweets raised both of his hands up to point at his chest. "Of course! I'll do anything!"

Booth raised his index finger up to his mouth. "Don't tell anybody about it." He could tell by the way Sweets opened his mouth that he was ready to protest, but Booth tried to silence him. "I've got this, okay?"

The line moved on once more and Sweets walked along with Booth. "With all due respect, Agent Booth, I'm not sure you do. The fact that you're standing here now, buying her laxatives proves that." Sweets placed both of his hands on his hips and straightened his back.

Booth frowned. "What are you talking about? A lot of women go through this every day. I just want to be there for her, instead of having her go about everything her own way. You know how she is, forgetting to take care of herself in order to give everything for her job. At least, now she has me to watch over her."

Sweets shook his head. "But she fainted! Come on! Doesn't that give you a good indication of how bad her health is right now?"

Booth sighed and counted till ten, to avoid exploding right here in such a public area. "According to the nurse we called in, she was just dehydrated. I gave her something to drink and some more later and she was just fine afterwards. She hasn't fainted anymore since then."

Sweets could hardly believe his ears. "Oh really? That's how easy things work with you? A twenty year old school girl tells you that and you believe it? Why didn't you take her to the doctor?" Sweets spoke accusingly. "And if the problem was dehydration, then why are you giving her laxatives now? That will only drain her more!"

Booth smiled when he finally made it up to the cashier. He took out his wallet as she scanned the item. "It's a stool softener, Sweets, not a diuretic." Once Booth paid for it, he put the package in the pocket on the inside of his coat. "And that twenty year old has a degree, just like you and she is more than capable. Most importantly, Bones trusts her and that is all that matters to me. I want Bones to feel understood and supported and I am just doing the best that I can."

Booth quickly made his way towards the exit of the store, but Sweets followed him. "I think you might be in over your head…"

Booth shook his head as he opened the door and stepped outside in the cool air. Traffic was just as busy on a Sunday than on any other day. When did that day lose its peace and its sparkle of a day in which you were not obligated to do anything or go anywhere? "Look, I am fine and Bones is too. As long as you'll leave us alone and don't tell anybody, everything is going to be alright."

Sweets continued following him as Booth walked down the street, to the parking lot where he left his car. "Agent Booth, this is not about you!"

Booth shrugged his shoulders and stopped in his tracks to turn back to Sweets. "So if we both know that, than why is it _me_ that you're going after?"

Sweets took a deep breath. "Please come to my office with doctor Brennan on Thursday, at 2:15 P.M.. We'll talk about it together and I will see how I can help you with this, professionally." Booth rolled his eyes and continued his walk again. He raised one hand up in the air as Sweets stayed behind.

"I'll think about it!" Booth called, all the while shaking his head. This was why shopping on Sundays was to be avoided. Just when you are about to believe that you are happy and free, another appointment pops up, burning a time in your schedule when you would much rather do some other things. His day was already tainted now. Booth hurried to his car, quickening his pace. The only thing he did have going for him was that his Bones was at home, waiting for him to get back. He was going to do the best to his ability to help her out now and forever and be the knight in shiny armor that he had always hoped he would grow up to be as a kid.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: And so, the tension rises between Sweets and Booth!<em>

_I really have to hurry to my EMT-job again, so this is a very quick shout-out to all the lovely reviews I have received yesterday. They did touch my heart!_

_Tomorrow/Tonight (depending on my time and energy): Brennan wants to do something nice for Booth, so what does she do…? _


	25. Week 11, day 4

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: I love this chapter, because it shows Brennan as the heart-person that she secretly is on the inside and how well she thinks about the personal things that could make someone happy. I hope you like it as much too. Second chapter of the day, lovelies!_

Week 11, day 4

"_I'm not denying. I'm frightened as much as you, though I'm barely touching you. I've shivers down my spine. Oh, and it feels divine. – Tina Arena, 'Show Me Heaven'_

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><p>Eight years ago, when Brennan had just gotten to know Booth, she did what every other person would do after meeting an interesting personality. She looked his name up on the internet. She wanted to know more about the man she was working with, the man whom she had kissed on a rainy night and the man she later slapped in the face. His name popped up on different army and military websites and he was listed at a shooting range. He had participated actively in some football clubs. Seeley Booth was just your average man…until she accidentally stumbled upon a newspaper article with his name in it.<p>

Brennan never told him, but that was when her perception of him changed completely. He stopped being the rat bastard FBI agent and became more human. Yet, by that time, she had severed all ties with him and she had expected to never see him again. Life turned out to have different plans for them in the end.

Today, Brennan wanted to do something, to express her gratitude. She wanted to show her appreciation of him and everything he did for her in a special manner. He bought her daffodils, Hannah had bought him a phone and she was going to do something entirely different. This Monday, Brennan stepped inside a library and headed straight for the information desk. "Is there any way that I can view newspaper articles from before 2003?"

The librarian showed her to a room in the basement, where she could look through boxes of newspaper slides. With a sigh, she had put herself to work, placing one collection of slides in the viewer, searching her way through war stories abroad and sports results. Altogether, she spent over two hours flipping through old pages that meant absolutely nothing to her, before she finally found what she was looking for.

Her lips curved up into a sly smile as she read the words on the screen. His name had gotten lost in the huge internet web overtime, but it was always documented somewhere. Brennan walked back upstairs to request for a print, as she left the viewing screen on, so that everybody who would walk in could read Booth's name and connect it to something extraordinary.

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><p>Brennan approached Booth carefully that evening, while he was washing the dishes. She held the frame pressed firmly against her belly as she started doubting herself. What if this was just another stupid idea? Maybe he did not want to be reminded of the event at all? He never mentioned it to her and he possibly had his own reason for that. There was no way that he could have forgotten about it. She had not forgotten reading about it.<p>

"Hey Bones," Booth said cheerfully as he dried their plates. He did not even bother to look up at her. "I completely forgot to ask you this morning about your belly ache. Is it completely over now?"

Brennan rubbed the side of the photo frame with her thumb nervously. She just wanted to be nice and surprise him with it, but she got very self-conscious all of her sudden. If she herself ever found herself in such a similar situation, would she want to take pride in it too? She thought for a while, completely ignoring Booth's question, as the answer to her own resounded in her head: She would never show it herself, but the fact that a loved one would feel special about something that she had achieved, would make it a glorious moment. "I uh…I got you something."

Booth and Brennan's eyes drifted down to her stomach at the same time until they rested on the frame that Brennan was shielding from his view. "You got me a photo?" Booth smiled, thinking it was either the ultrasound or something of him and her together.

Brennan shook her head, as her hair fell to the sides of her face. "N-no, not really." She turned the frame around, showing him the article that she printed this afternoon. There was a small photo in the middle of the article of a young Booth in an army uniform, looking straight past a camera. Brennan had glued the article on a yellow sheet of paper as she fixed it in a simple black frame. Booth had his photos in similar frames on his apartment walls. She thought this one belonged there too.

Booth took the present from Brennan's hands in silence as he looked down at it in awe. He followed the words with his eyes as he read it silently. _'Last Wednesday, 28-year old Seeley J. Booth, a soldier for the United States Army, saved the life of 6-year old Peter Barker on his one day off. At two in the afternoon, the little boy fell down in the water at Washington Canal Park while playing with a ball. Without any hesitation, the young Booth jumped right in after the little boy and swam them safely to the side, helping the kid back up to the solid ground. The little boy was returned safe and sound to his mother as he was not hurt thanks to the heroic soldier. "I can't swim yet," Peter confirmed, expressing how lucky he was with Booth's quick rescue. "…but I will start classes next month to learn it!" His hero went home shortly after the incident, to change his wet clothes and to continue the fight for our country.' _

"I figured," Brennan started, taking in a large gulp of breath, "you should keep this as a remembrance." Booth looked up at her with his mouth slightly opened and his eyes wide in surprise. "You're always saying that you killed so many people and that therefore, you're not a good man. I think this article proved otherwise. Even in the army, you never stopped being a good man."

Booth looked back at the frame, before looking back up at Brennan. He wanted to say something, but he just did not know what. Brennan continued for him. "You saved a life that day, just because you could. People talked about you and wished they knew you. You set an example for every man when you didn't think about yourself for a single minute and helped that boy. You are a great person and I'm glad I could get my hands on the newspaper that wanted to let the world know about your abilities…and your heart."

Their eyes met and Brennan smiled. It was hard to tell whether or not he liked it. He was still too busy staring at her gift and then back up at her again. Brennan felt herself become slightly uneasy as she crossed her arms in front of her chest nervously. "Y-you…you don't have to prove yourself all the time anymore." Brennan pointed to the article. "I know. I've known what you were capable of for eight years." She took a step closer towards him. "I hope this paper will tell you that you shouldn't doubt yourself anymore, because others don't doubt you either."

Booth reached out for Brennan's broken arm and kissed the fingers that escaped from the cast. "Oh Bones, I wasn't being heroic. I just did what every other man would do in my position. I just happened to be the closest one by." He let go of her arm to brush some of her hair back.

Brennan shook her head in disagreement. "No, you could have walked on or just look away. You did neither of these things. You got yourself wet to save the little boy, who can now go to college studying, all thanks to you." Brennan placed her hands against his chest. "This was not God. This was all you."

Booth wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer to his body. "Thank you," he whispered. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "I love it, almost as much as I love you." And he did. He would put this article on a very visible place and remember Brennan's words so he would not feel inadequate that easily anymore. It was a very thoughtful gift that could help him fight his past demons and he appreciated how careful she had gone about it.

"I'm glad you like it, Booth." She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent deeply. If it only served to make him feel the tiniest better about himself as a person, than her mission had succeeded. Seeing him happy was the biggest gift that she could get herself as well.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: The article is actually based on my grandfather. He once made the papers after jumping in the town canal to save a child. He came back home all wet, not willing to talk about it. My grandmother never knew about it, until she read the papers and saw his name printed in bold. <em>

_Glad I'm finally back on the right day again! Please leave me a review or find me on Twitter (AllysonHale). Tomorrow, I'm working at the nursing home again (second to last week there!) so I might actually be able to reply you again. Yay!_

_Tomorrow: The angst increases when Booth and Brennan return to work on their case. Brennan finds it hard to keep herself disconnected from the victim and she has an emotional fall-out with someone from the lab. _


	26. Week 11, day 5

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: Always when you expect easy days at work, weird things happen, people barge in to ask 'a minute' of your time and you never get the things done that you wanted to! Brennan doesn't differ all that much from me…_

Week 11, day 5

"_Am I scared or am I strong? When I'm there, do I belong? Is it only skin I touch when I reach for you? – Tara MacLean, 'Settling'_

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><p>Was her world turning upside-down again? Brennan wondered as she could practically feel the victim looking at her from across the room. She had now been identified as the thirty-six year old Mikayla Kolesnik. She had indeed been an FBI consultant at some time in her life, until she married officer Tames. She seemed to have dropped from the planet shortly after that. Brennan saw a photo of her, which had been over ten over years old. She had been a pretty young woman with thick dark hair and brown eyes. Did she know back then, what she got herself into by marrying that man?<p>

Brennan shook the thoughts away. Nothing had been officially confirmed yet. For all she knew, officer Tames was innocent. Maybe she was psychotic and did she need an organized and sterile environment. But maybe not… Brennan stood hunched over, looking at the bones with squinted eyes. She did not touch anything, as she was not wearing gloves. She had yet to master the art of putting them on with a casted arm.

Her eyes rested on the tiny lines that ran across her skull. "There are multiple healed hair line fractures across the skull. There are dents as well, indicated repeated blows to the head. The shape suggests maybe the head hit a wall." Brennan stared ahead of herself. Accident, malicious intent or a suicide attempt? Brennan thought hard. _She had hit her head on the trunk of the car, as she tried to sit up. It had been a blinding pain, that actually caused lights to flash in front of her eyes. Yet, she sat up time and time again, pushing against the metal with her head, trying everything to get the damned thing to open and meet up with the sunlight…or the moonlight. She had lost all sense of time._

Brennan gasped at the memory. "You were just trying to fight your way out. Through death, if you needed to," Brennan spoke to the victim, because even though her life was lost, her spirit was very much present in the room. Brennan had retreated with the bones to one of the lit storage rooms with an autopsy table. She did not want to be disturbed right now. She did not want to be clinical and professional this time, because she _understood_ the victim, in a way that meant more than just feeling sorry. She connected with Mikayla.

Brennan moved to the side of the table as she looked closely at the remains again. She could not find any other physical evidence of abuse such as broken bones or healed fractures. Nothing that indicated a disease. When she looked at the pelvic bone of the woman, she frowned. "You have been pregnant, at least for ten weeks." Brennan's good hand automatically found its way to her stomach and rested against the warmth. "But where did your baby go?" That was one of the mysteries, along with her husband missing in action. _"If your mother is such a great person, Temperance, where is she now?"_

Brennan took another deep breath as she closed her eyes. She was going to have to do whatever it takes to solve this case. Booth was going after her husband at the moment and as soon as he was found, Booth was going to steam him in the interrogation room. Just when her thoughts shifted to Booth, her cell phone rang.

Brennan pressed the button to speaker phone as she placed the phone down on the autopsy table. "Booth…" she greeted him as she had seen his name on her display. Brennan walked around the table slowly, never taking her eyes of the remains. There had to be more for her to find here. Maybe all the clues rested on the underside of the bones. Damn, than she was going to need some help…

"Bones, bad news," Booth announced. Brennan's eyes widened as they travelled up to her phone. Whenever Booth said that there was bad news, it did mean something terrible. "We found officer Tames. His car was found in a river. He's dead." Brennan opened her mouth to speak, but words refused to come out. "We did find the keys on him, so we will check out all the secret cabinets and drawers, but this looks a lot like a suicide. Maybe he felt guilty over his wife's death."

Brennan placed her weight from one leg to the other. "Did you find—"

"There's a dead baby in the trunk. We'll take her to Cam straight away." Brennan leaned forward and grabbed the railing of the autopsy table with one hand. A little baby girl, stuffed in the back of a car like a flask of motor oil. She was supposed to grow up and be happy, play with dolls and have parents teaching her how to drive. None of that would ever happen. She would be buried along with her parents as soon as the investigation was wrapped up.

Brennan's bottom lip quivered. _One, two three, four. No one hears your cry no more._

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Bones. Don't worry." Of course she worried! Everyone was dead! The FBI would get back to speaking all of Tames' colleagues and it was basically hoping for another lead to pop up. For now, they had nothing. _Five, six, seven, eight. Can you feel the pain of wait?_ Absolutely nothing.

Without giving it any further thought Brennan closed her phone and turned herself away from the remains. She crossed the other side of the room, where she had hung her own vest on a hook. Brennan unbuttoned her lab coat and quickly yanked her broken arm through the sleeve of her vest. She could not sit around here while other agents returned to the crime scene. She wanted to know what was going on. This victim needed a voice and Brennan wanted to lend it to her. Mikayla had lived in silence for way too long already.

At that exact moment, Hodgins decided to walk into the room. He watched Brennan angrily zipping her vest. Maybe now was not a good time. "Where are you going?"

"Away," she answered shortly as she turned herself around hastily. She was going to have to leave the bones spread out like this if she wanted to be there in time. She wanted to be on top of this case and know about everything that was going on. As she approached Hodgins to the exit of the room, her shoe slipped and she nearly fell over, but regained her balance just in time.

"Can you even drive?" Brennan looked at Hodgins incredibly as she straightened her back and stood up again. His face was twisted in a worried expression. What the hell for?

"Of course I can. I'm not going to faint." Perhaps she had meant to reassure him, but the tone of her voice was so cold and disconnected that she had not been able to convince Hodgins. He wanted to look out for her and did it the only way he saw fit. He widened his stance in the doorway and blocked her way out. Brennan paused her movement as their eyes met. "What are you doing?"

Hodgins cocked his head to the side. "Stopping you."

"Why?"

He looked back at her in disbelief. "Because I want to know what's wrong with you and I want you to tell me now, before you walk off and accidents happen." Hodgins felt like he was doing the right thing. He was just preventing her from putting her frail self in danger. She was probably weakened and not able to think clearly anymore by lack of food. If he could get her to admit it right here, right now, he could call Sweets and help her.

Brennan could practically feel her blood boil on the inside. He was hardly any different than Mikayla's husband had been. He had her trapped like an animal now! _"And you can stay in here until you've discovered a way to behave yourself, Temperance!"_

"Who do you think you are?" Brennan called out, raising her voice and startling Hodgins. "You can't force me to do anything!"

Hodgins raised both of his eyebrows as he saw the muscles in her face and body tense. "Wow, doctor Brennan—"

"I live my own life and I do as I see fit. I go where I want to, whenever I want to and I don't need anybody to tell me to do otherwise." Suddenly, Hodgins was not himself anymore, but he wore the face of her foster mom and Brennan had no control left over her emotions anymore. "Why is that so hard for you to accept? You can confine me to tiny spaces, but I will still be me. You can't hide me from the world. Someone will come and look for me."

Hodgins stepped out of the doorway, quickly clearing the way for her. "Doctor Brennan, I just wanted to talk to you." But Brennan had lost her ability to listen and her rationality was long gone as tears fell from her eyes and she continued her speech.

"I can't change who I am if I don't know what's wrong with me. I want to make others happy, but I fail all the time… I do my best, I really do." Brennan looked away and noticed Hodgins staring at her in absolute shock. Instantly realizing what she had just burdened him with, she thought of something to say. "I'm sorry." It was all she managed before she looked back down again and stepped passed Hodgins, before disappearing out of the room.

Hodgins stared after her while he remained stunned for a couple of seconds. What the hell had just happened?

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><p>In all her haste to get out, Brennan had walked out of the museum without bringing her coat or her car keys. She only noticed this when she entered the parking lot, continuously wiping the wetness from her cheeks. Come on, now. She was a grown woman. She was as tough as a nutshell to crack with your bare hands. In the storage room, she just broke. Out of nowhere. Like a glass of warm tea that splintered in your palm, because it just could not take any more heat.<p>

With quick strides, she walked to her car anyway. She knew she could not get in, but it was a comforting thought to be away from all her colleagues for a couple of minutes. If she headed back to her office, someone would surely come and check up on her. What she goddamned needed was a moment of peace and quiet, peace and stability, peace and goodness. Not necessarily in that order.

When she almost reached her car, she heard a sound to her right and saw Booth standing behind his car. He had closed his door, which had caught her attention. Brennan stopped in her tracks as she looked at him from across the lot. For no real reason, she started crying again when she made her way over towards him and he opened his arms to welcome her.

She let herself fall against his body, leaning into him as close as she could while he held her. She started sobbing, overwhelmed by everything that she had been feeling today, about the innocent lives that were lost and because the similarities between her and Mikayla were so very obvious. She once perceived officer Tames the way she herself now looked at Booth. It was a scary realization, but Booth squeezed her shoulder reassuringly as he kissed the top of her head and being in his arms did make her feel better.

"I thought you'd come here. I came here to pick you up." He spoke in his soft and warm voice that she had come to know and love. He knew her so well. "I know what this case means to you and I didn't like the idea of you driving yourself here." He brushed a strand of hair from her face as he lifted her chin up with his finger. "Are you going to be okay?"

Brennan nodded. "I'll be fine. It's just…the woman and…and her baby—" Brennan did not finish her sentence, but Booth knew just what she wanted to say. He walked her to the passenger's side of his car and opened the door for her.

"We'll find out what happened to them, Bones. I promise." She did not even object that he could not make a promise like that without an ability to look into the future. She got into the car and gave him a small smile as he closed her door. Strange how she never felt so trapped whenever she was with him.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: To those who haven't found me on Twitter yet (AllysonHale), this was obviously a delayed chapter. Yesterday, I was deadbeat tired and couldn't even type if I wanted to. I have a very busy week with lots to do. Sweets' intervention will probably come on Friday and Brennan's ultrasound on Saturday. Anything could happen in my life at the moment, though, so if you want to be sure about when I post the next chapters, following me on Twitter is probably your best go.<em>

_And maybe, just maybe, this weekend I'll give you the sexy chapter you've been waiting for. I'll either upload it to a different story or sent it to those who want it by mail. Still undecided on that one... Maybe I'll chicken out after all, haha! Yes, I'm grinning very evil-y now. _

_Tomorrow: Angela has heard about Brennan major minor blow-up with Hodgins and calls to find out what's going on…_


	27. Week 11, day 6

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: Short chapter, because I have a VERY busy day tomorrow. I haven't had the time to reply to your reviews lately, but please know that I DO read them ALL and appreciate every single one of them!_

Week 11, day 6 

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><p>The shrill sound of a ringing cell phone woke Brennan up from a deep slumber. Why did she never turn it off or on silent mode while she slept? She considered ignoring it for a while, but when she noticed that Booth's arms were not around her, she opened her eyes anyway. The first thing she saw was the alarm clock. 8 P.M.? Realization struck her. Oh right, she was supposed to take a nap, but instead she slept in for two and a half hours!<p>

Brennan sat up straight as she reached for her phone. She made a mental note to kick Booth's ass later. He had promised to wake her up after an hour and a half! Brennan checked the name in display, before hitting the answer button. "Hey Ange! How are you and Michael?" She had to admit, sometimes it still felt a little weird to not see her friend at work anymore. She would return after two more weeks.

"Hi sweetie. We're fine, but I'm a little bit curious as to what has happened between you and my husband…" Angela's voice trailed off and it took a few seconds for Brennan to realize that she actually expected her to reply now.

Brennan leaned back into her pillows. "Me and Hodgins?" Well, where would she start?

She heard Angela chuckle on the other side of the phone. "Yes, that's him. He's been grumpy ever since yesterday, muttering something about wanting to help you and you just exploding in his face?" Brennan sighed. Oh yeah…_that._

"He…" Brennan stopped for a while as she formed her next thought. "He caught me at a bad time. I should apologize." Brennan felt guilty. She had stormed off without saying anything to him. She did not even offer an explanation. She had gone straight to Booth's arms without thinking about poor Hodgins once. She had not seen him today as she was lecturing at a university.

"You should, sweetie," Angela's voice softened. "How's pregnancy been treating you?"

Brennan smiled. "I'm very hormonal and it clouds my rationality at times, so I really dislike that. On the other hand, my morning sickness is really getting better." Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "Currently, I'm more bothered by my broken arm than being pregnant."

Brennan pulled her casted arm from underneath the sheets and looked at it. Booth had drawn a smiley face on the cast, in an attempt to make her smile every time she looked at the damned barrier. She had to admit that he did succeed in that, most of the time. "So that's what your fall-out with Hodgins was? Hormones?" Angela questioned. Brennan could hear the doubt evidently present in her voice.

"No," Brennan answered truthfully. "Part of it was just me." She took a deep breath and dropped her arm back behind her head. "When Hodgins cornered me like that, I was reminded of my past. Of being locked up. You know…" Over the years, Brennan had told Angela bits and pieces about her past. She felt confident enough to confide in her best friend. "All control was taken from me."

There was a quiet on the other side of the line for a little bit and Brennan bit her lip. She had been out of line with Hodgins and now she was painfully aware of it. "Maybe you should talk to somebody about it."

Brennan raised a single eyebrow. "You mean Sweets?"

"I mean anyone that could help, Sweetie. There are more professionals than just Sweets out there, if he makes you uncomfortable." Brennan hated psychology and so she did not really feel up to seeing a psychologist. "Look, if you are bothered by it so much that you just explode in the middle of the day to someone like Hodgins, don't you think that means something? I don't think you've ever worked through this completely."

Brennan thought for a second. Would it even be possible to get over something like this? That is why she preferred science over something as subjective as psychology. You cannot predict emotional outcomes. Talking it over was like ripping off a band aid. You would either bleed or discover that a scar had formed to protect the wound underneath. "I'll think about it." She said shortly, because she really did have to think the option over.

"So how are you and Booth?" Angela continued. "Has he already experienced some of the _perks_ of pregnancy?"

Brennan laughed as her eyes automatically drifted down to her chest. "No, he has not, unfortunately. But we have an appointment with our midwife on Friday. Maybe she can make a difference. She's willing to talk to him, but Booth is rather prudish. His jaw clenches every time I bring the subject up." Brennan thought back to less than a week ago. She had been so close to getting him where she had wanted him to be.

Angela laughed. "Well, good luck with that!"

"I'll apologize to Hodgins, Angela. As soon as I see him tomorrow." Brennan reassured her. "I won't tell him all the details, but I will mention my difficulty with this case."

"Thank you, sweetie. That ought to make him very happy again." Brennan smiled at the phone. She was glad Angela talked to her about this. She could have completely missed it otherwise. Her ability to perceive and recognize someone else's feelings was still under development. They said their goodbyes and Brennan hung up the phone. She tapped her phone against her chin in contemplation. She snapped out of it when she remembered she still had to kick someone's ass.

Brennan dropped her phone back on the night stand as she kicked the covers off of her legs. She got out of bed, supporting her broken arm with the healthy one as she pushed herself up from the side of the bed. With bare feet, she tip-toed her way into her living room, planning to sneak up on him. When she got there, however, she found Booth sleeping on the couch, snoring softly while the television continued screaming about significant events during today's football match.

Brennan ignored the television as she moved towards Booth. She looked down at him when she was standing in front of him. His face was completely relaxed as he was lying on his side. One arm was dangling over the seat of the couch while the other one rested on his hip. With a smile, Brennan sat down next to him. Was he dreaming about something? Did he have any bad memories plaguing him at the moment? Was he confident, even in his sleep, that everything was going to be okay?

He stretched his foot and took a deep breath before he released it again. He was in deep sleep too, like she had been before. She remembered his fragile back, but could not get herself to wake him up right now either. Instead, she laid down beside him, scooting up against him with her back to his chest. She closed her eyes when she tucked her head underneath his and he shifted a bit so that the arm on his side fell around her waist, holding her to him.

Brennan smiled. Only half an hour, she told herself, and then she would wake him up. Otherwise neither of them would sleep anymore at night. That thought proved to be more ambitious than attainable when Brennan got lost in the warmth of his body to hers, and drifted off again too.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: Well, at least you had B&amp;B snuggled up on the couch in the end. I love the image that pops up in my head with that. And… If Brennan won't talk to Sweets, maybe she'll end up asking for our favorite Gordon Gordon anyway..? <em>

_Wish me luck with a job interview tomorrow and a meeting I have in the morning. I developed a computer program for a home care organization that helps the nurses develop care plans for their patients and they are interested in using it. Busy is me! In the evening, I will be singing for the elderly in the nursing home I currently temp for, so I have NO IDEA what time I will post the next chapter. You'll know by following me on Twitter (AllysonHale), where I keep all Hiatus readers posted. _

_Tomorrow: Finally it's time for THE intervention! Sweets confronts Brennan with her supposed eating disorder. What will happen? I'm not going to say anything more. You are free to guess and leave me a review with your ideas. Cookies and daffodils for those who guess right. _


	28. Week 11, day 7

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's note: Here's the FULL version of this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it as much I liked writing it. _

Week 11, day 7

"_Meanwhile, I'll hide my head here in this paper bag. Cause if I can't see you then you can't see me." Anna Nalick, 'Paper Bag'_

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><p>Booth was mildly surprised, to say the least, when on this warm and sunny Thursday afternoon he knocked on the door to Sweets' office before opening it and finding the entire team huddled together in the room. Their faces all looked at him expectantly as he opened the door further to reveal Brennan, who showed signs of equal confusion. Sweets pushed himself up from the chair and clasped his hands together. "Doctor Brennan? Agent Booth? This is an intervention."<p>

The atmosphere in the room intensified as all gazes landed on Brennan, who shuffled her feet nervously in the doorway. "Intervention?" She questioned. Booth noticed Wendell and Cam sitting next to each other and Fischer was leaning to the far side of the couch. Hodgins and Angela were sitting in two chairs next to each other. Sweets' seat was facing the door. Booth felt Brennan place a hand on his upper arm. "I thought you said we had an appointment at 2:15?"

"You do, doctor Brennan. This intervention is for you." Booth's brow furrowed into a deep frown and Brennan mirrored his expression when they looked at each other in confusion. "Why don't you come on in?" Sweets suggested as he pointed to the two free chairs on the other side of his own. Booth stepped aside so Brennan could enter into the room, while he closed the door behind them.

Booth gently helped her out of her coat as she looked around all the people she knew so well. Why did she suddenly feel like she would have to perform? She started tugging at the edges of her cast nervously as she waited for Booth to walk with her to their assigned places. When they sat down, Brennan glanced at Angela, who shrugged her shoulders with a concerned look on her face. Did she know what was going on? Baby Michael was asleep in a stroller behind her.

Sweets sat down too and turned his body so that it was focused towards Brennan's. Booth watched the scene unfold right next to him with narrowed eyes. "What we all want you to know is that we love you, doctor Brennan. That is why we're doing this." Brennan sat back in her chair and raised her chin defiantly. "We have all gathered here today, because we want to express our concerns about your behavior recently. You are obviously harming yourself and we have noticed a steady increase in alarming symptoms. We would like to help you."

Booth shook his head in disbelief. "Harmful behavior? Is this some kind of joke?" Brennan's mouth dropped open in shock.

"We know, doctor Brennan." Cam spoke up, attracting everybody's attention. She did not say anything more than that and Brennan's gaze shifted to Angela for quiet confirmation. Angela closed her eyes and shook her head so slightly that it was barely noticeable. Brennan raised an eyebrow. What did that mean? Did she have no idea or was she denying that they knew. Or was it a shake of the head that indicated defeat.

Booth sat up straighter in his chair and threw his hands up in a violent gesture. "So you all know, but you could never just talk to us about it? You needed to schedule this meeting? Just what are you trying to intervene?" He felt a head ache coming up. This was what he got for working with Squints; complicated 'between-the-lines' discussions. These people spoke an entirely different language.

Wendell was leaning his head on his hands, his elbows resting on his legs as he thought. "These physical breakdowns. The fainting, you know—"

"The secrecy. The excuses. We don't want you to feel like you need to keep us in the dark anymore," Hodgins cut in, causing Angela to frown. Booth noticed Brennan lower her head and biting her lip. She had not been ready to give their secret up yet. For them now to just throw it at her was very inconsiderate. Booth took a deep breath and decided he was going to try and control the anger that he could feel coming up.

"We're taking your health issues very seriously, doctor Brennan. The fainting, your fatigue, the paleness of your skin is your body drawing a line. You can't take much more. We want to help you help yourself to stay away from that line. To turn your back on that line and walk away. We want you get healthy again." Sweets explained.

Booth stared at the plant in the corner of the room. Was it actually suffering from all this crap that was spoken in this room every day? "I apologize for all these excuses, but you must understand how sensitive this subject is to Brennan, at this stage. All these symptoms that you describe come with her condition. She can't help those!"

Wendell straightened his shoulders. "Of course she can! She needs to eat and drink right and make sure that it stays in there! Not lose it through regurgitation or using laxatives! Come on man, you are not that blind!" He exploded.

"Mister Bray." Sweets gave him a warning look. "It's probably better if I do the talking from now on."

"W-what…" Brennan shook her head, fighting to force the right words through her mouth. "What do you want me to do about it?" Booth noticed her swallowing nervously and her eyes looking rather watery. She did not enjoy being put into this position in the spotlight at all. Brennan was feeling guilty. She had no idea her pregnancy had affected her co-workers this much. She had never meant for any of that to happen.

Sweets leaned back over his chair and grabbed a folder from the table behind him. "There is a clinic in Seattle, they can admit you today. It's a very professional facility that—"

"No." Brennan said, looking at Sweets with dark eyes. "I don't want to get rid of it. I want this. How could you even suggest such a thing?" Her breathing quickened. An abortion, really? How could her team gang up on her on a matter such as this one. Booth cocked his head to the side. He had a strange feeling about this. Something was off…

Cam sat down on the edge of the couch so she could lean as close to Brennan as possible. "Look, you don't have to worry about your salary. We'll just put you on sick leave, so you will just get your regular amount of hours paid." She could not reach for her hand or anything from there, so she hoped this would be emotional support enough for now.

"A friend of mine went there, actually. She was treated very successfully," Fischer decided to join in. Booth thought hard for a little while. Wait a minute…

Sweets was still holding the folder as he looked deeply into Brennan's angry eyes with a genuine look of concern on his face. "We're not forcing you to do this, doctor Brennan. We only want this for you because we believe it will make you feel better. They can help you better than any of us can over here." Sweets bent his head down. "Losing weight to gain more confidence is one thing, but you are using it as a method to take some control back on your life. In that clinic, they will lift you from that burden and let you see other ways of doing that."

"Wow, wait," Booth said, making a time-out gesture with his hands. "What do you _think_ you know is wrong with her, exactly?" None of this intervention so far had made any sense and it started to look more and more like they had not been talking about the same problem.

"Agent Booth, doctor Brennan has bulimia, which is a very serious eating disorder and I'm afraid it's already progressing to anorexia—" A loud laugh cut Sweets off, startling everyone, including Brennan. Booth was sitting doubled over in his seat, one hand holding his stomach in exuberant laughter. He could feel the cramping sensation in his ribs as he fought to get himself together again. All eyes were on him and Brennan did not know how to respond. No one had ever heard him roar with laughter quite this uninhibited.

Sweets turned his face into a blank expression as he tapped the folder in his lap impatiently with his fingers. "Agent Booth? What about this disorder strikes you as funny?"

Booth pushed himself up from his chair so that he was the only standing in the circle. He was still chuckling as he let his eyes slide over the annoyed looking people in this room. Cam and Wendell seemed disturbed, Brennan looked confused and Hodgins was staring at him open-mouthed. Fischer showed no emotion whatsoever and neither did Angela, which struck him as odd.

Booth raised his hands with his palms turned upwards, after winking at Brennan first. "She's pregnant, you morons!"

For a moment, the room was so quiet that you could almost hear a needle drop to the ground. Booth sat down again, wearing a huge smirk on his face as all eyes were on him. Sweets turned his attention from Brennan to Booth, putting on his therapeutic frown again. "Look, agent Booth. We know how hard you've been trying to help doctor Brennan and keep her secret, but it's okay now. You did your job well. Now, let us help her get better."

Booth leaned in towards the young man too, not breaking the eye contact with him as he did so. "I'm sorry to tell you, but it's actually true." Brennan's was looking down at her belly with widened eyes and she licked her lips nervously. Just like that, her secret was out. She had hoped she would have more time and figure out a good way of telling everybody, but now there was no need for that anymore. She mentally braced herself for what was about to come.

Hodgins slapped his hand on his knee in frustration. "Come on, dude. That can't be true! What about the fainting and that special nurse you brought in?"

Booth exhaled slowly. Oh, was it going to be one of _those _days again? In which he was going to prove everyone wrong? Well, if they left him no choice… "She really did faint due to dehydration and that nurse is her midwife."

Wendell looked up too. "And the vomiting…?"

"Morning sickness, look it up. About seventy percent of all pregnant women experience it during their first trimester." Booth looked over at Brennan, who continued to stare down at her belly and her lap, avoiding all contact with everybody here. What was going on in that beautiful head of hers? If this was going to go on for much longer, he would get her out of here.

Cam gazed straight ahead as she spoke up again. "But I saw her take diet pills. She confirmed to me those were diet pills."

"She was actually taking folic acid, which decreases the chance of birth defects. Otherwise, she's fine and she's not taking anything."

Sweets straightened his back and sat up, his eyes narrowed at Booth suspiciously. "But you bought her laxatives last weekend, I saw you at the pharmacy. You told Cam that she was on a diet. You brought her over to Hodgins' place, practically forcing Michael on her, not to mention that you keep forcing food down her throat. Evidence is obviously against you, agent Booth."

"Evidence which can be explained by a simple thing called pregnancy." Booth pointed both of his hands towards Brennan. "She was insecure about the pregnancy, so she decided to wait telling everybody and I took her to Hodgins, so that she could take a good look at a baby and perhaps feel a little less stressed out about it. She told me she was pregnant and ever since then I bring her food, because we all know she forgets to eat sometimes. These laxatives are because the increase in progesterone hormone in her body relaxes her bowels and I'm not going to let my girl cramp up in pain, just because she can't go to the bathroom."

Brennan's head shot up angrily all of a sudden, and she talked so quickly that nobody in the room ever found the time to progress Booth calling her 'my girl'. "Some scientists you are! You drew your conclusions without checking all your variables. Do you really think I would do such a thing as starving myself? I am much too educated about all the risks to ever let that happen. I am way too rational. I had thought, or hoped maybe, that you all knew that by now!" Her healthy hand grabbed on the arm of her seat tightly.

"So it's true?" Cam questioned her in surprise. Her employee was not trying to kill herself, but got knocked up instead?

"Yes," Brennan said, earning her a small smile from Angela. She had kept her promise not to say anything about her pregnancy and even though it had been hard for her to keep quiet during this 'intervention', she was glad she had been able to keep her word.

Booth rolled his eyes in frustration. "Look, if you want actual proof, she'll pee on one of those sticks for you, alright? It will come back positive for pregnancy. She's twelve weeks pregnant, she had her first ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and we both saw the heartbeat." Booth shrugged his shoulders. "You were all wrong. Except for the dehydration and the broken arm, Bones is as healthy as a horse."

Sweets did not know what to do with himself. In his few years as a psychologist, he came across the weirdest things, but never had he been this far off with his diagnosis. He went for his last cause, since he had not that much left to lose anymore anyway. "What about that cut and bruise on the knuckles of your hand?"

Brennan looked at it and sighed. "I hurt myself on a razor blade, it happens all the time." Brennan's eyes were hardened now. She felt a bit cheated somehow, by her friends. Did they really know her at all? She did not like to be written off as an instable person who found her escape from life by resorting to such drastic and irrational measures. "Is there anything else you'd like to accuse me of?"

Sweets threw his hands up in the air and let them fall down again. "Who's the father? Can you tell us that?"

Brennan turned her head to look at Booth and he looked right back at her. That was actually all the confirmation the team needed, but they continued to search each other's eyes, trying to find a glimmer of doubt or hesitation about speaking up about it. Booth nodded, turning away from Brennan again. "It's me."

The news dropped in like a bomb as a collective gasp resounded from everyone present. Except for Angela, everyone was looking at them with widened eyes and mouths open in shock. "How did this happen? And when?" Hodgins asked in a high-pitched voice. Everyone was always rooting for them together, only to find out now that they had, behind the scenes.

Brennan went back to picking at her cast. "It was just one night of—"

"We kissed one night and things took off from there." Booth quickly cut into Brennan's story, to prevent her from possibly dropping any intimate and inappropriate details from their encounter. "We are dating and we are happy. Alright? I think that's most important for you to know."

Sweets was too flabbergasted to say anything. First, he finds out that his entire book was based on one huge misconception and now he's here, trying to get a pregnant woman into an eating disorder clinic. What was wrong with them? Wendell shrugged his shoulders. "So what are you guys going to do now? Will you live together? Get married?"

"We're still in the process of finding everything out," Booth placed a hand on Brennan's casted arm in an intimate gesture of reassurance. "We'll take things as they come and see how things play out." He smiled at her, but her eyes looked rather sad. Of course, Booth could imagine, it did not happen every day that people were ready to ship her off to some faraway funny farm.

Sweets leaned forward and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. "Then I guess apologies and congratulations are in order." Cam and Wendell chimed in, wishing them both the best, although the surprise was more evident in their voices than actual happiness. Yet, who could blame them? Hodgins turned to look at Angela with both of his eyebrows raised.

"You haven't said a word this entire conversation. You knew about this, didn't you?" When Angela frowned apologetically and shrugged her shoulders, Hodgins turned his seat towards her. Booth and Brennan watched how everyone started talking to someone else, completely forgetting about their presence in the room. Brennan felt tired again. Emotions had an extra draining effect on her ever since she became pregnant. She leaned her head on Booth's shoulders and smiled weakly. What a day.

Angela flipped her hair back. "What was I supposed to do. I promised Bren I wouldn't say anything and she's my best friend!"

Booth leaned in towards Brennan's head. "Shall we go? I think we've done enough for one day." Brennan nodded and sat up straight again. When Booth stood up, he cleared his throat. "There's just one minor complicated thing. The FBI can't find out about this, or they will split us up and won't let us work together anymore."

This time, Sweets got up from his chair too. "Oh, you think that's minor? I'm supposed to report back to the FBI! I am their consulting psychologist!"

Booth reached forward to pet Sweets' shoulder with one hand. "Well, I'm sure they didn't consult you to intervene in Bones' life, so maybe you can consider this as an off-the-record meeting, huh?" Sweets raised both of his eyebrows and he wanted to protest, but Booth had already turned himself away from him to occupy himself with helping Brennan back into her coat.

"I'll uh…see you all at work tomorrow," Brennan greeted Cam, Wendell and Hodgins awkwardly as Booth held the open for her. They nodded back, feeling very silly for all of today's events. They were going to need a moment to let realization sink in.

Fischer got up from the couch too. "I'll go downstairs and talk to the cab driver. Maybe they'll take me instead of doctor Brennan. I could use some professional help for this lingering depression of mine." Booth frowned at him, and quickly urged Brennan out of the door by gently pressing against her lower back with his hand, not wanting to expose her and their unborn baby to more nonsense.

As they headed to the elevator together, Brennan looked up at Booth. "I think I should talk to somebody else about my past. Not Sweets." It was not even that she held little confidence in him as a therapist anymore, after today's debacle, but she just wanted someone to listen to her and leave the interpreting for later. Obviously, Sweets was quite fast with concluding things from anecdotes.

Booth brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Alright, baby. We'll see what we can do." A part of him was glad that the truth was out now. They did not have to be this secretive around her team members anymore and he could stop with plotting any medical conditions to explain her health and her limits. She, along with their relationship, seemed to get more beautiful every day. And if it had not been for all the security cameras around them, he would have kissed her right then and there.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: There, the complete version of The Intervention. I hope you liked it and I hope that one day maybe, FF will work the way it should and I get to read the reviews that you left on the first half of the chapter. And don't worry, I'll write plenty on when the team finally gets that she really is pregnant, so there will plenty of happy squeals and belly touching later. <em>

_Big thank you for all my friends on Twitter (AllysonHale)! Thank you for your compliments, the shout-outs and being so vocal on what you do and do not like in this story. I can't make everybody happy, but it's good to know how I can keep you captivated. Thank you, also, for those who have joined Twitter just to get in touch with me. I could not feel more special!_

_Tomorrow/Tonight: Brennan and Booth have their second appointment with Analeigh. Will they learn something new…?_


	29. Week 12, day 1

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: If you have not read the FULL intervention yet, click one chapter back. It's reloaded and updated, baby! This one below is another midwife/nursing chapter. Yay!_

Week 12, day 1

"_I never loved nobody fully. Always one foot on the ground. But what protected my heart fully: I got lost in the sound." – Regina Spector, 'Fidelity' _

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><p>"I'm getting a little uncomfortable," Brennan announced to Booth in the waiting room of the birthing center. She fidgeted in her chair as something was obviously bothering her. Booth's concern kicked right into overdrive. He placed a hand on her upper arm and caressed her hair back from the side of her face.<p>

"What's wrong? Are you going to be sick?" Booth quickly got up from his chair to walk over to her side. "Shall I help you to the bathroom? Call Analeigh? I'm sure she must be here somewhere already." Booth looked around quickly. The receptionist was typing away at a computer, just like the previous time they had been here, but besides her, nobody else was present. All the doors to other areas of this land house were closed and the idea that women were giving birth in the rooms right next to him made him uncomfortable too.

Brennan shook her head. "No, nothing like that." Booth turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "My pants are getting rather tight. I think I would prefer to wear loser clothing around my waist, from now on." Her hand automatically went to rest against her belly and she rubbed it unconsciously as Booth's face broke out into a bright smile.

He knelt down and pressed a kiss against her clothed tummy as he chuckled. "You are starting to show?"

Brennan shrugged her shoulders and softly laughed along with him as he placed his hand on top of hers and tickled it lightly. If she did not know any better, she would have believed he was a first time parent too. "Depends on what you call 'showing'. I am definitely expanding in some areas."

A door opened right next to the receptionist and Analeigh walked out, stopping for a little bit as she watched Booth and Brennan sharing a moment. She smiled as they had become entirely oblivious to their surroundings. Who could blame them? This place was designed to make people feel at home. "Miss Brennan?" She called, making them both look up at her. Booth quickly scrambled back to his feet and offered Brennan a hand to help her get up from her seat. Together, they walked over to her and shook hands.

"Hi," Brennan said as Analeigh gestured for them to go inside the room. "I think…you should call me Temperance from now on." She felt weird, calling her midwife by her first name when she kept addressing her as 'Miss Brennan'. She was not at work here and saw no need for the formality with someone she allowed so close to her, physically and emotionally.

Analeigh nodded. "Sure, I will do that, Temperance." She closed the door behind them and gestured for her to take place on the examination bed. "You may lie down over here. No need to dress down or anything, if you could just unbutton your pants for me and expose your stomach, that would be great. I'll go collect some items from this room in the meanwhile, okay?"

"Alright," Brennan agreed, looking down her body as she pulled her shirt up and unbuttoned and unzipped her pants. Booth watched her with great interest as she revealed her stomach to him.

Brennan's eyes met his as she moved towards the examination bed and sat down. His eyes were smiling too when they trailed down to her abdomen and for a few short seconds, Brennan became a little self-conscious. She had noticed how her lower abdomen had started to protrude a little bit, but only ever so slightly, that it looked no more than a big dinner. Booth had seen her naked before and therefore he was aware that her body had started changing, but she still looked far from pregnant.

Analeigh returned, holding a blood pressure measuring device in one hand, while she pulled the monitor for the sonogram on a cart with the other. "So how are you doing? You're twelve weeks along now, so it's the last week of your first trimester." Analeigh said cheerfully. She set the monitor into position, before she grabbed a chair so that Booth could sit next to Brennan. She dragged her stool on wheels towards her with her foot.

"Except for the break, I'm good," Brennan answered, turning her head to look at Booth, who was still staring at her tummy. "The morning sickness is almost gone now. The headaches are not as bad as before. I'm still a little tired, but it's nothing I can't handle." Brennan rested her casted arm to the side of her body. Luckily, this room was not too cold, while she was lying there with her belly out and her shirt raised up to just below her breasts.

Analeigh unwrapped the cord of the blood pressure cuff while they spoke. "Any heart burn?"

Brennan shook her head. "No. Should I be experiencing that?" Honestly, she had had just about enough of all these pregnancy symptoms. She was looking forward to be lifted from all of these in her second trimester.

Analeigh chuckled. "No, but it's very common when you're around twelve weeks pregnant. It can be a great nuisance, but I'm glad you've been spared on that so far. You've been through enough already."

"I'd say," Booth chimed in, touching Brennan's cheek with his index finger lovingly.

Analeigh threw her hair back behind her shoulders and eyed Brennan with her piercing green eyes. "I see the drinking is still a rather difficult task on you." Brennan raised both of her eyebrows innocently. She had put on a hydrating lip balm to cover up her chapped lips, but she had not been able to fool the nurse-midwife. She could have known it was useless to mislead a trained eye; she could recognize staged bone damage from afar too.

Brennan raised her hands up in defense. "I drink four to five big glasses of water a day and I ingest plenty of fluids from my food too!"

Analeigh raised her eyebrow playfully. "Not enough. I'd like you to drink six to eight glasses a day, Temperance, please." She nodded towards Booth. "He ought to watch your meals and your drinks." She winked at Booth, who then grinned back at her. He would do whatever it takes to keep her healthy. "So, what we're going to do today is that I'm going to measure your blood pressure again and do a transabdominal anomaly ultrasound. For that ultrasound, I'm going to ask one of the obstetricians to look with me, because I haven't been doing that for so long yet. We're going to exclude any visible anomalies by making some measurements, take a look at your baby's organs, just make sure that everything appears to be alright at this stage. It's a screening that we offer all women around this time along, so it's nothing you have to worry about."

"Okay," Brennan said, looking down at the skin of her belly. She was up for anything, especially to make sure that their baby is alright. Booth reached out for her broken hand and grabbed her fingers reassuringly. He simply nodded, but his face looked so content that it immediately calmed all her nerves.

Analeigh leaned forward to place the cuff of the blood pressuring device around Brennan's healthy upper arm and tightened it. "Do you have any questions? Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?" Her face became very serious all of a sudden and Booth marveled at how much it looked like Sweets' expression whenever he felt the need to express a concern.

Brennan's gaze shifted to Booth as she considered bringing up the subject of sex again – or the lack thereof – but she figured that would only make him tense up beside her. She was glad that he appeared all relaxed now, because it had a calming effect on her as well. "No, I think we are fine for now," she spoke.

Analeigh pressed a button on the blood pressure measuring device and the cuff tightened around Brennan's arm. "I would advise you to make a dental appointment sometime soon. Any anesthetics that you might need could cause premature contractions later on in your pregnancy, so that would be ill-advisable. If you don't get the necessary dental work done, it could cause some very annoying complications later on as well. Bleeding gums, extremely sensitive and painful teeth…" Analeigh trailed off. "So, it would be good for the dentist to take a look at the state of your teeth somewhere in the next couple of weeks, just to be sure."

Unconsciously Brennan ran her tongue along her teeth. Normally, nothing much was wrong with her dentition. She only had a cavity twice in her life. Booth's jaw tightened. He was not a big fan of dentists. Anything that probed or poked had to stay as far away from him as possible. "Thank you, we'll schedule one soon." But Booth would put all his fears aside and go with her, because it was the right thing to do.

Analeigh loosed the cuff around Brennan's arm and took it off. "Don't forget to mention to him then, that you're pregnant. He has to be a little more cautious with what he wants to use on you." Analeigh grabbed Brennan's file from the cart with the monitor on it and scribbled something down. "Your blood pressure is 130 over 82. I'm very pleased with that."

Brennan remembered how last time, it had been elevated. She had been worrying over her booking appointment for over a week then. Now, the nerves did not start until this morning. "Good."

"Now, I'd like to feel your stomach, if that's alright with you, to see if I can locate your uterus. It has expanded since the last few weeks and around your twelfth week, it will start moving up and out of your pelvis. Eventually, it will come to rest just above your pubic bone and it will continue to grow from there." Analeigh held up her hands with her palms turned upwards. "I promise it won't hurt. You're just going to feel a little pressure."

Brennan nodded. Analeigh gently rested her hands on either side of her belly first, letting her get used to the feeling on her hands on her tummy. Brennan shrieked. "Cold!" She exclaimed. Analeigh chuckled and blew in her hands a couple of times, warming them.

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically. When she placed them back on her skin, Brennan relaxed. With her fingertips, Analeigh gently felt below her navel and trailed further down her lower abdomen. She stopped halfway past her pubic bone and gently moved her hands to either side of Brennan's hips. "There it is!" Brennan looked up at the midwife questioningly. "Your uterus has started to make its way up, but it's not quite there yet. Nevertheless, it is starting to peek out just a little bit." She stopped pressing into Brennan's body and looked up at the expecting parents. "That is a very good thing."

Brennan smiled and looked up towards Booth, who leaned in for a small peck on the lips. Analeigh retreated and got up from the stool to clean her hands with an alcohol solution. "Do you think you are ready to meet your baby again? Because then I'll go and get doctor Nielsen to come and take a look with me."

Booth gave Brennan's fingers a gentle squeeze. "I think we are." Brennan nodded in confirmation. "We are."

Analeigh grabbed her white nursing jacket from a hook next to door and put it on. She quickly buttoned it up, before taking an elastic band from her pocket and using it to fix her hair into a loose ponytail. "Okay. I'll be back in a little while." Analeigh headed for the door. "Don't mind him too much. He's a doctor in his fifties and he acts a little bit like he has Asperger's, but he's actually really good."

Brennan chuckled. "Okay, we have been warned." Analeigh smiled one last time before she left the room. Brennan sighed and Booth leaned down closer towards her.

"Did you hear that? Everything's alright so far. Nothing to worry about." Brennan saw the smiley that he had drawn on her cast and she thought it was best to take his positive attitude to heart at this point. She nodded. She felt alright too, so nothing could be seriously wrong, right?

Analeigh returned with a balding man trailing behind her. The features of his face looked strong and serious. He seemed like a man that had aged with his experiences; every wrinkle in his face made him look more concerned. It was a huge contrast with the young and blonde Analeigh. "Doctor Nielsen, this is miss Temperance Brennan, along with her partner mister Booth." She introduced as she picked up Brennan's file and handed it to him. "She's here for her anomaly ultrasound. She is twelve weeks and one day pregnant today and she's due at the end of December. No history of genetic diseases, blood pressure is normal, iron levels are so-so. No pregnancy complications so far, although she fainted once due to dehydration."

Doctor Nielsen nodded at Booth and Brennan quickly, not greeting them with any words, before he looked at her file. "Dehydration is under control now?"

"I have pointed out the importance of drinking at least six glasses of water today. She has not fainted since this one time, but some improvement is still needed." Analeigh winked at Brennan amicably, before looking back at the doctor expectantly.

He continued nodding as he read through Analeigh's notes. "Crown-rump length?"

Analeigh shrugged her shoulders and turned on the ultrasound machine. She entered some data into the computer and accessed a black screen. "I haven't measured it this time yet. That's why I asked you here right now, to come and check with me."

"Alright then, miss Daniels. Let's get to work." The doctor took a step to the side, so he could lean against the end of the examination bed on which Brennan was lying.

Analeigh grabbed the Doppler wand, and poured some jelly on it. "It's Mrs. Daniels," she corrected with a sly smile as she leaned over Brennan's belly. "This is going to feel even colder than my hands, Temperance, so I'm sorry in advance." Brennan pressed her lips together in a tight smile as Analeigh squeezed the bottle and dropped some jelly on her abdomen. "You ready?"

When Brennan nodded, Analeigh sat back down on her stool and scooted over to Brennan's side. Pressing the wand against her lower abdomen, she gently pressed it down, causing a grainy image to appear on the monitor. Booth and Brennan looked with her as she slid the wand down until she pointed at something in the screen. "This is the womb… and this is the baby." Analeigh tapped some buttons on the screen to zoom in. She moved her finger as she squinted her eyes. "There is the head, pointing to the left, its spinal cord and…a hand raised up! I think it's trying to wave," Analeigh waved back as a joke. Doctor Nielsen did not respond, while Booth and Brennan stared in awe, smiling all the while. "Umbilical cord attached in the right place, so that's good. Now, measuring crown to rump…," she hit some buttons again. "Forty-five millimeters."

"What does that tell you?" Doctor Nielsen asked her, obviously trying to test her.

Analeigh did some quick calculations in her head. "Six weeks and forty-five days, equals twelve weeks and a little more. The baby is developing neatly according to my previously determined gestational age." Analeigh clarified. She then looked over to Booth, who had raised both of his eyebrows. "Your kidney bean has grown into a lime, which is perfect," she translated.

The doctor scribbled the measurements down in Brennan's file as he continued looking at the monitor. "Nuchal translucency. What do we mean by it and why do we have we to check it?" The doctor fired the questions at Analeigh, who remained stubbornly calm.

"Nuchal translucency is the fluid beneath the fetal skin in the neck area. It's present in all fetuses in early pregnancy. We measure the widest part of this lining," Analeigh pointed at a black blob that ran along the length of the baby's neck. She hit some keys, making arrows appear on the screen. "In Miss Brennan's case, this is 1,3 millimeters. Anything below 2,5 is good. When this amount is elevated above 2,5 millimeters, it could possibly be a sign of Down's syndrome."

Booth watched Brennan's intense expression as she looked at the screen. "So far so good," he said.

"Fetal nasal bone is present already. This means a reduced the chance of this baby having Down's syndrome as well," Analeigh educated. "So far, so good indeed!"

Doctor Nielsen stepped forward and pointed at a flashing movement in the baby's body. "What's this?"

"The baby's heart." Analeigh answered.

Doctor Nielsen shook his head. "Everybody knows that, but what is _this_ specifically?"

Analeigh thought for a little while. "Uh…the tricuspid valve? The flashes run along this grey area in the heart entirely, indicating that it closes completely. No regurgitation, so no blood is leaking back. No visible cardiac defects visible at this point. Fetal heart rate is currently 158 beats per minute, which is good in this stage of the pregnancy." Analeigh diagnosed.

Doctor Nielsen nodded his head once again. "Someone's been taking her prenatal vitamins." Brennan smiled, not knowing whether it was meant as a joke or not. She was very strict when it came to those and made sure she took them every day. "What more can you see?"

Analeigh shrugged her shoulders. "The baby head is a nice oval shape. Kidneys are developing over here," Analeigh moved the wand to Brennan's left side. She pointed to another grainy blob, which Booth and Brennan could not tell apart at all, but seemed to make every sense to Analeigh and the doctor. "There are the lungs and the intestines. I can't quite see the gender characteristics yet." She pointed out some other organs to doctor Nielsen, who suddenly stepped away and walked to the door.

"Good job." Doctor Nielsen nodded once more to Booth and Brennan, before he left the room without saying anything else. Analeigh looked up in confusion as the door closed behind him. Booth chuckled.

"I think you passed the test."

Analeigh frowned and shook her head. "I have no idea about that, but I think you did too." She entered some more information into the computer as she placed the wand back in its holder, after cleaning it with a paper towel. "Everything looks just perfect," she said with a gentle smile as she helped clean Brennan's belly with another towel.

Brennan's eyes sparkled. "I'm glad." She said as she sat up again. Every time Analeigh drew a conclusion, it felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. Booth looked equally relieved, although he was carefully masking his previous concerns with his confident expressions.

"I'll print some more pictures of your lime for your refrigerator," Analeigh said, untying her hair from the ponytail and shaking it loose again. "I'd like to see you back in four weeks, okay? But you'll have to promise me you'll at least try to drink more. Dehydration is rather risky…"

Booth nodded. "I'll see what I can do." That comment earned him a glare from his girlfriend. He just smirked back at her. "We need to keep our lime hydrated in the coconut." Brennan sucked in her stomach as she re-buttoned her pants and fixed her shirt. She would show them she was perfectly capable of looking after herself _and_ their lime. Now that her colleagues knew, she did not have to sneak around anymore and it would be easier to eat and drink at regular intervals.

When she got up from the examination bed, Booth pulled her into a tight hug unexpectedly. "Thank you." He whispered, while Analeigh had busied herself with filling in more paperwork again. One of his hands caressed the back of her head, over her hair, while the other arm was wrapped around her waist protectively. "Thank you for carrying our baby."

Brennan closed her eyes and tried to fight the tears that suddenly threatened to overtake her. She wrapped both arms around his neck and enjoyed this moment with him, not caring about the fact that they were standing in a sterile examination room with a young midwife. Surely, a hug was something that she had witnessed here, many times before.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: Please do not make me scream my head off by reviewingPM-ing/tweeting me, asking where the second half of the intervention is. Like I stated before, it's updated in yesterday's chapter. THANK YOU for your great response to that chapter! It was lovely to write it, but it's kind of difficult to keep that intense atmosphere going, so I'm glad you liked it and let me know!_

_Tomorrow: 30__th__ chapter! Which means, you get to give me themes again to work with and you'll decide what tomorrow's chapter will be about! Give me your original, odd, fluffy or whatever category word that you would like to see me work with tomorrow, in a review or on Twitter (AllysonHale) and I'll puzzle with it!_


	30. Week 12, day 2

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: Never would have imagined to receive so many understanding and caring responses on my last author's note. It really shows that I did not just strike up some followers, but some friends too, while writing this story. Thank you! This is the one missing chapter of the first trimester. T-rated, it's probably not half as exciting as the M-rated one, which I'm still working on. I don't know when I'll finish that. My priority is to keep this story going, first._

Week 12, day 2

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><p>"Bones!" Booth called through her apartment as he looked around several corners and not finding her in the living room, kitchen or her study. "Bones?" He paused in her hallway. Her jacket was hanging on a hook and her car keys rested on the side table next to the door. He had warned her not to put it there. Any burglars could come in and fetch them in a second, but as usual, she chose not to listen and be frustratingly stubborn. For now, he was glad with this sign of her being home. Maybe she was in the toilet or the bathroom?<p>

Booth knocked on the toilet door, but received no response. With a frown, he headed for her bedroom. The door was closed. Maybe she was sleeping? Booth sucked in his breath and softly placed his hand on the door handle. He lowered it gently and peeked around the door to gaze at the unslept bed. His eyes then landed on the tools that were spread out at the bed's end.

Booth entered the bedroom and headed over to examine them. He then heard a stumble in the bathroom attached to her bedroom and after a few moments, Brennan nearly fell through the door with tousled hair and wild eyes. The look she threw at Booth was a mixture of surprise and shock. "Bones?" Booth questioned, picking up the handsaw and the chisel. "What are you going to do with this?"

In all his surprise and hasty attempt to get to her, he even forgot to greet her. She let out a ragged breath as she met his stern gaze. "I'm going to take my cast off." She leaned in to take the tools from Booth, but he extended his arms up in the air, so that she could not reach them. "Give them to me!" She stood on her tiptoes to grab them, but Booth took a step back.

"Bones, you broke your arm! Taking it off is a very stupid idea!" And he knew that she knew that too. Still, at this moment she was furious and determined to get rid of it. His eyes trailed to the blue cover on her left arm. She had not damaged it. Yet.

Brennan then decided to push him backwards, wanting him to tumble over so that she could grab them from the ground. Booth's chest was hard and solid against her one healthy palm and he barely moved. Brennan could feel her anger nearly hitting a boiling point. Was she going to have to use force against him? "It's not an idea, it's a plan."

"I really can't let you do that. Your arm needs to heal and that's why they casted it in the first place. In a few weeks, you'll get a brace and you are going to have to wear that too or you're going to spend the rest of your life…the rest of our lives, with a hurting arm. That's not what I want for you." Booth's arms started burning from holding the items up and he looked around for a place to dispose of them, so that Brennan would stop attacking him and speak up.

Brennan cocked her head to the side defiantly. "And obviously you are so very attuned to what _I_ want." Booth felt the obvious sting that she was lashing at him and with a quick thought, Booth leaned up himself and threw the saw and chisel on top of Brennan's closet. He himself could not reach them anymore from there, let alone Brennan, who was smaller than him.

Booth placed his hands on his hips as he tried to stare right through Brennan, but she avoided eye contact with him on purpose. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Brennan's gaze shifted to the top of her closet. She should have done it right after he had left yesterday night. She could have known he would drop in right this minute. This man had a sixth sense when it came to her health and well-being. Even though she did not believe in those, she had to admit that his gut feeling was very accurate. Her gaze landed on the man in front of her. "It means that I'm done with being vulnerable and I don't want you or anyone else treating me that way."

Booth squinted his eyes at her and searched her face for any hidden information he was missing here. "I think you're only telling half the story here, Bones. What is it that you want that I'm not giving to you?"

"You're still not having sex with me," Brennan muttered under her breath. She could see Booth opening his mouth, ready to protest, so she quickly changed her words. "Or making love to me. You're a healthy, sexually active alpha male…" She placed her healthy hand on her casted arm as she paused. "I think this is one of the reasons why you don't find me attractive enough."

Booth closed the distance between them, by taking the last few steps towards her. "Bones, we had this conversation a million times already. I think you're gorgeous! And I have attempted to make love to you…"

Brennan's head snapped up. "Once! And then you never touched me again. I am frustrated enough—"

"…to hack your way to your arm through a cast, with a chisel?"

She cocked her head to the side, staring at him in disbelief. "Of course not! I was going to saw for the most part and then use the chisel underneath the cast to gently break through it!" Was he mocking her? He was wearing that cocky half-smile that she had come to recognize… He placed a reassuring hand against her cheek, and lightly rubbed the skin with his thumb. Her eyes softened, finally, and Booth knew that he would now be able to get through to her.

"The reason why I haven't touched you doesn't have anything to do with you, but everything to do with me." Brennan raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "I just wasn't sure…about the timing. People at the lab just found out about you and me and…you were upset. I don't want you to be upset when we do this again." He slid his hand back so that he could run his fingers through a strand of her hair. It was that and the fact that he wanted to be absolutely sure that she was certain about it. About them. He did not tell her that, as these thoughts already sounded overly negative locked up in his own head.

"Right now, I'm upset that we're not doing this…" She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I was starting to feel a little unattractive."

Booth's smile faded. He knew Bones better than he knew himself. She never considered herself to be anything else than beautiful. It pained him to hear that his carefully chosen distance had sparked her insecurity. "I had no idea…" he admitted truthfully. Maybe these were her pregnancy hormones talking, but he wanted her to continue to feel confident about herself.

Brennan shrugged her shoulders again, not wanting to bring him down. "I just wanted to feel better. Everyone is treating me differently and all this stupid cast does is slow me down."

Booth leaned in towards her and gently pecked her lips, ever so softly. "I hate to break it to you, but you are going to be treated differently for at least another seven months and it's only going to get worse." Booth emphasized his words by placing his hand against her belly. "And you're going to have to slow down too."

"No, I don't." Brennan whispered defiantly as she leaned up and kissed Booth back on the lips.

Booth eagerly returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. "Yes." He spoke between kisses. "You do. And you know it. Once you have a full baby belly, you can't run that fast anymore and I won't be able to guarantee your safety in the field anymore." He moved his head down to her throat and placed a light sucking kiss to her neck, making sure he would not leave a mark. "You'll have to go back to being a lab squint and then everyone will be back in their original places, where they are supposed to be." He heard Brennan take a sharp intake of breath and he smiled against her skin.

She slapped his shoulder. "Are you trying to piss me off? Again?"

Booth trailed his way back up to her lips by sliding his lips upwards. "I just think you're so hot when you're angry. Amusing too."

"Is that what I have to do? Get angry with you?" Brennan held on to his shoulders as his mouth opened over hers and she eagerly followed his lead. Their tongues met in a battle for dominance as Booth walked her back against her bedroom wall. Booth did not respond as he pressed her closer against him by pulling her body towards his own with his hands that he had placed on her back. Brennan gasped, as her own sensitive body responded to the touch and feel of having him against her. "Booth…" she broke the kiss desperately and placed both of her hands against his chest. Her breath was ragged as she shook her head at him. "I can't take much more of this. I feel like I'm ready to burst in unsatisfied arousal, although that is physically impossible. If you're not willing to take care of it, then I need you to leave me alone for a moment. I need you to…not make this any worse."

Booth did his best to hide his smile. "It really sticks in your throat, doesn't it?" He quickly rephrased when he saw her brow furrow. "It's bothering you a lot."

"It's an inconvenient and unpleasant feeling; yes. One I've never had to experience before." Brennan wet her lips before she dared looking back up at Booth. He was watching her intently, with an almost sympathetic expression on his face. "What?"

Booth chuckled lightly and he placed his hands on either side of her face. Her lower lip trembled and her pale blue eyes were staring at him expectantly. "I think you're gorgeous and…" he pressed a kiss to her nose teasingly. "I would love to make love to you."

"You keep saying that, but I want you now. As in, right now and not another week from here." Brennan said, grabbing his tie with a single hand and tugging at it playfully. Booth was a fine man and she really felt like she could not wait any longer to take these clothes off of him and be intimate with him again. She had gone over a year without sex before, without any trouble at all, but this time the ten weeks had felt like eternity.

Booth had felt the last bits and pieces of his resistance crumble minutes ago. He did think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. He felt his heart – and his body – longing for her, but he felt the need to warn her up front. He wanted to be crystal clear and make no mistakes before he would tread these waters with her. He had gotten used to and secretly liked how she often misunderstood things and he could set her straight. However, this was something entirely different and he wanted to make sure that they were both on the same page from the start. "Bones…I want you too, but it's going to be very different this time. This won't be us comforting each other in sadness, like the previous time. This will be about love. I will be loving you and you will feel it."

Brennan looked to the ground and nodded. "I know, and I'm ready." She then spoke to Booth's face directly. "I'm ready."

Booth leaned down and captured her lips in a very slow kiss. She let him, not forcing him to deepen the kiss, but just gently brushed her lips against his. "I think you're ready too." His hands dropped to her waist and he gently pulled them against his, effectively connecting their clothed lower bodies. "So am I."

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><p>"You were right," Brennan said, lying with her head on Booth's shoulder. She had one leg draped over his and her arm rested on his stomach. It struck her just how comfortable she felt, lying naked in a bed with Booth, cuddled up against his side. "It was different this time and not just because of the increased blood flow in my pelvic area." They both turned their heads to look at each other. "I felt you. All of you. All that you were feeling, I was feeling too." She then frowned at herself and looked away. "I'm not making any sense."<p>

Booth's hand was playing with the loose strands of Brennan's hair as he listened to her calm voice and her breathing that had slowly returned to normal again. "Yes, you are. I know what you mean. We made it pleasurable for us both, by doing this together and taking our time getting to know each other in the intimate way. It wasn't about stress relief like last time." Speaking of which… "Do you feel any different now?"

"I feel very relaxed right now," Brennan confessed, "and happy. I've been wanting to do this with you for quite some time." She pressed a small kiss to his shoulder. Unbelievable that she had been so unhappy a year ago, never even imagining a future with Booth. Here she was, actually having it all. She was not used to getting what she wanted. In fact, she was not used to even knowing what she wanted at all!

Booth was quiet for a while, wondering if there was a better timing for him than to bring it up now. She looked so content and at ease now, but maybe he could work that to his advantage. "Bones, we need to talk about your broken arm and how that cast really has to stay on for another two weeks at the least…"

"I know." Brennan nodded. "Sorry, I was just so upset and irrational before. I know I need the cast for the arm to heal in the best way possible."

"That's right."

"If I took it off, you probably would be too scared for my recovery to have sex with me again."

Booth blinked a couple of times at her reasoning, but mentally shrugged his shoulders. If that was what could motivate her to leave it alone from now on, he would happily agree to that. "Absolutely." She was right; he could never jeopardize her well-being for his own personal satisfaction.

Brennan released a long breath and closed her eyes, snuggling closer to Booth. "I know we should probably take a shower, but I'm so tired right now…"

"That's okay, baby. You can go to sleep first. We'll clean up afterwards." He stopped playing with her hair and rested his hand on her back instead. He could feel the muscles and a few bones running underneath his fingertips. She was perfect and small in his arm, like she was made to fit right there with him. Come to think of it, she was perfect for him in more than one way. While he went for safe choices and careful planning, Brennan liked to decide things on impulse. When she regarded things rationally, he helped her look beyond that. They were both headstrong people with a deeply rooted respect for each other. Where she forgot or failed to look after herself, his own protective skills kicked in. They both complimented each other in a magnificent way, even though there were certain aspects they completely disagreed on.

Booth thought back to the baby Brennan was carrying. He was secretly hoping that it would be a girl, with Brennan's eyes. She would be a knock-out, with her dark hair in long loose curls on her back. She would have Brennan's brains and his gut and she would be so very brave, protecting the victims of bullying in and outside of school. He would be the proud dad and Brennan was going to be a beautiful and loving mother. Parker would be the protective older brother… That would be a perfect future for all of them.

"Hey, Bones?" Booth questioned, but he was only answered by her slow and even breathing. Booth smiled. She was beautiful in her sleep and even right after waking up. This was what true love is like, thought Booth, before he too closed his eyes and drifted off to a very peaceful sleep.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: Due to a very busy(professional) life, I haven't been able to update sooner, but as you can see I'm not dead! Last year, I wanted to free my casted ankle with a handheld drilling machine. I wasn't bribed with sex, but with different work to leave it alone in the end. Like Brennan, I was so close too! <em>

_You may have noticed the status of this story; I have changed it to complete. While this one is far from over, I'm going to create separate stories for each trimester. Just so that in the end, after every day, you won't have 230 chapters in a single story. So, I suggest you either put me on author alert or just watch out very closely for when I post a whole new Hiatus story. This one will still follow them every day, but now into her second trimester. Followers on Twitter will be notified there when the next chapter comes out. I'm AllysonHale there. Easy, no?_

_Tomorrow: I will start the new story with a healthy dose of angst. There will be blood! There will be B&B! There will be crying! There may or may not be a happy ending... Ta-ta-ta-dum! _


	31. Week 12, day 3

**Hiatus **by Allyson Hale

_AllyH's Note: I've skipped a day, so that I could write a special chapter. I also got the stomach flu, so that's why this one is slightly delayed._

_Sumiko Mikazuki's ,Princess Isabella Flynn's AND Ciza_'s 'Father's Day' – Because Booth is going to be a father again, yay!_

_Shojo-Chan's 'Painting' – I should get more in touch with 'the arts'._

_Sumiko Mikazuki's 'Bunnies' – Aww! Can it be Easter again, please?_

_Trisha Whitlock's 'turtle' – Your review was too hilarious for me to leave it untouched. _

_Dr. AllieCameron's 'Edward Cullen' – It's the last thing you'd expect someone to incorporate into a Bones fanfic_

_emzsidle's 'Butterflies' – They're my favorite animals/insects!_

_Courtney_Mae's 'Floral shorts' – That is just soo seventies, man!_

_jesstheElephant's 'X-Files' – I never watched it, but now the theme song is resounding in my head. _

Week 12, day 3

_"There's nothing you can know that isn't known. Nothing you can see that isn't shown. Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be. It's easy." - The Beatles, 'All You Need is Love'_

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><p>Brennan knew Booth well enough by now to know that something was bothering. He did not want to show it to her and he did his best to cover it up by wearing a permanent smile on her face, but she knew better. Today was Father's Day and since Rebecca had taken Parker on an out of state vacation, Booth could not have him today. Brennan knew, without needing to ask him, that it made him incredibly sad to be without Parker on this special day. So, she decided to try and distract him, by getting him out of the house.<p>

The park or the zoo would be full of children today, but Brennan knew how much Booth enjoyed stretching his legs. She decided to take him somewhere where they could still walk together, but where she suspected very few kids would go to with their parents: The Jeffersonian Butterfly Habitat Garden.

Booth had agreed to go with her, when she had announced that she wanted to check out the butterflies. It was her favorite insect, she had told him. Yet, she had never been to the gardens. Booth drove them, because letting her drive with a casted arm was something Booth rather tried to avoid.

When they parked the car in the parking lot below the museum, Brennan walked over to Booth and laced her broken arm through his right one. "I've heard the Jeffersonian Gardens are really beautiful, but I never checked them out in all the years that I've been working here." Brennan admitted as he locked his car by pressing the button on his key, while he steered her towards the stairs, leading up to the Jeffersonian museum's ground level. The underground parking lot was only accessible to employees and consultants, so except for their car and a few others, the lot was otherwise deserted and their footsteps resounded in the empty area.

"I had no idea you were this interested in butterflies," Booth commented, but he was feeling rather pleased that they were now going somewhere fun together, where neither of them had any memories from previous lovers. Brennan shrugged her shoulders lightly. It was not like he ever asked her about it.

They headed up the stairs and were surprised when they ran right into a t-shirt stand when they entered the museum. The fabrics were available in every color of the rainbow and one print was more obnoxious than the others. Booth frowned when he found one with '_ten reasons why a beer is better than a_ _woman_'. Brennan noticed the sign with a 'Special Father's Day Offer' and she took a deep breath, wanting to get Booth away from it as soon as possible, so that he would not be confronted with Parker's absence once more. "Shall we go, Booth?"

He smiled as he walked over to a rack with a t-shirt with a skeletal print on it. "How do you like this one, Bones?"

Brennan grinned and raised her eyebrows. "It's not accurate. Humans have more than four ribs." She remarked, before walking over towards him to flip through the shirts on the other side of the rack. She took one out to hold it up to Booth. "Booth, you like the X-files, right?" Maybe she could get him a Father's Day present. After all, she was expecting his baby.

Booth looked up at the grey shirt with white letters. He chuckled at her. "I do, Bones, but that one is from Star Trek, not X-files." The shirt read: _'Beam me up, Scotty!'_ Brennan laughed with him as she put it back where she got it from. Booth pulled out a pink one for her to see. "Nevertheless, I will still wear it, if you promise to put this one on."

Brennan frowned at him incredulously. "'_Bite me, Edward Cullen'_?" Brennan read aloud, before her eyes trailed up to his smiling face. "I don't even know who that is, so why would I let him bite me?"

"It's a vampire, Bones!" Booth clarified, dangling the shirt in front of her. "He's in books and movies and he's quite popular. Not to mention that this shirt is big enough for you to be carrying triplets underneath it." Brennan tilted her head to the side while Booth hung it back on its place.

"We're having one baby, Booth. Not three." Brennan corrected.

Booth smiled at her as he stepped closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He gently pulled her towards him and kissed the top of her head as they walked away from the stand. "I know Bones, but who knows what could happen if we ever decide to have another, huh?"

Brennan looked at him with widened eyes while they headed for the doors, leading them out of the museum and into the gentle outside air. Typically Booth, to always be one step ahead of her and glimpsing further into the future than she ever dared to. Unconsciously, her gaze shifted to her abdomen. Getting out this one baby was going to be a challenging enough task for her already.

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><p>"Every plant in here, serves a purpose," Brennan explained, when they entered the garden. "Nectar plants support the mature butterflies and host plants support the immature stages, such as the caterpillars." She was relieved to only find adults walking in the gardens. It was rather quiet; probably all the families were inside the museum, where a comic exhibit was hosted this month. "They have some wasps and lady bugs here as well, to control pests that could harm the butterflies' environment."<p>

The sun warmed both of their skins as they walked arm-in-arm, very slowly down the path that ran through the middle of the garden. "Someone's been doing her homework," Booth commented, earning him a smile from Brennan. "It smells really nice in here." There were all kinds of butterflies, resting on plants or dancing in the air. Their colors varied even more than those of the t-shirts they saw inside the museum. Their wings were symmetric and the lines that ran across them made some of the insects look like a piece of art that could fly.

They continued to walk in silence, sometimes stopping to look at a plant or a certain butterfly. Booth took notice which butterflies attracted her the most. Brennan observed how Booth was more silent and less blunt than he usually was. Even though she could understand his reason for feeling down, it did worry her.

Something caught her eye. "Booth, look!" She dragged him along by tugging at his arm and he walked with her to a tree that was standing to the other side of the road. "Up there!" Brennan pointed up to a twig where a chrysalis was hanging. The lower end was split, as the insect inside it pushed at one end with its front legs. "It's hatching from its cocoon."

Booth watched in amazement as the wings elongated and the butterfly fought to open the proboscis. They were both thinking the same thing. Watching this butterfly come out to see the light was like a baby being born. Brennan's eyes secretly glanced at Booth and she felt relieved when he was staring at the cocoon in concentrated wonder. Finally, the butterfly cracked the proboscis in two halves and it emerged, spreading its orange wings out into the open after being confined for so long. "It's out!" Booth called out, opening his mouth in a small laugh. "Bones!"

Brennan smiled, but did not make any sound. The butterfly was now hanging upside-down, patting the remains of his shell with its legs. "I…I hope I won't split into two when…it's our time." Soon after she had phrased the words, she felt like mentally kicking herself. She had wanted to avoid the subject of fatherhood today to make him feel better, but instead she had not been able to help herself and she hoped that she had not made things any worse.

Booth watched Brennan twitch before biting her lip and it suddenly clicked with him. They did not come here solely for her pleasure. She had purposely made an effort to change his day around, in a way that was so typically hers. She was not obvious, she did not expect anything in return and only did this because she wanted him to be happy. He felt his heart swell with the love he felt for her. He reached out for her bottom lip and pressed it down from her teeth with his thumb. "You won't," he said, before pulling her into a tight hug.

* * *

><p>They walked on to the next area of the gardens, with a small open grass field in the middle of the right side. To their left, a man was posing between the flowery plants. He wore floral shorts that had the same colors as the ones beside him. Booth shook his hands. Atrocious. He was not suited up today, but he hoped someone would shoot him before he let his style hit a low like that one. On the opposite side of the path, a man was sitting on a bench with a color pallet next to him. He was painting the image of the man in front of him. Brennan felt a small stab in her heart, suddenly missing Angela.<p>

Booth nodded his head over to the grass field. "Come on, Bones. Let's rest for a bit." Together, they walked to the middle of the field, where other couples were sitting as well. To their right was a small pond, surrounded by flowers. Booth inhaled the scent of the fresh nature as he sat himself down on the field and patted the side next to him, motioning for Brennan to sit down next to him.

Brennan carefully knelt down next to him and turned herself so she could rest her head into Booth's lap. The ground was uncomfortable, but Booth lap made for a nice pillow. Booth laid back in the grass, putting his arms behind his head. He was looking up at the clear sky when he heard her speak up in a soft voice. "I know that you're really missing Parker right now. I'm sorry," she said.

Brennan had her face turned towards his in his lap. She saw the lines in his face tighten. She did not want to make him upset, but she had experienced in the past that talking to him helped her. His belly relaxed when he exhaled deeply. "It's alright, Bones. I'm upset with Rebecca, but my parental rights are limited, something I've always known. She didn't do it on purpose to hurt me, I know that too. It's just hard." Booth swallowed a lump of emotions when he felt Brennan rest her broken arm on his stomach, caressing him with her fingers.

Parental rights, Brennan thought, was something she needed to educate herself on more. "Is there anything that I can do for you? To make you feel better?"

Booth propped himself up on his elbows so he could take a better look at her. "Just stay here with me. Watch butterflies hatch and turtles slip into the pond." Brennan furrowed her eyebrows.

"There are not turtles here, this area is for butterflies only. Turtles could scare them away and require an entirely different habitat." She corrected him. Booth snickered, glad to be slipping back to that comfortable place with her. Sometimes, he found himself saying something silly, because he liked the way she looked and spoke whenever she tried to set him straight.

"It's not just butterflies. Look over there. Bunnies." Booth nodded his head, to make a forward gesture. Brennan turned her head to the right, before looking back at him.

Her expression nearly bordered a condescending look. "Booth, these are statues. Not actual living animals." Booth would have pinched her cheek lovingly, if he did not need his elbows to hold himself up.

They were quiet for a while and Brennan's expression softened again. An orange butterfly flew around them. "Bones, take a look at that!" The butterfly twirled in front of Brennan, before landing on top of her belly, right below her belly button. Brennan gasped, breathing from her chest so that she would not disturb the insect. "Amazing…" Booth said, with a bright open-mouthed smile.

Brennan felt glad to finally see his face light up again in all honesty, for the first time today. She took that as an indicator that coming here had been a good decision. She looked down and took a deep breath. "I think that if I believed in your signs of the universe…" Brennan paused, looking back at the beautiful butterfly. It was facing her, its antennas pointing towards her. "I would be inclined to deduce that somebody else wants to wish you…happy Expecting Father's Day, Booth."

Booth cocked his head to the side and watched how the butterfly flapped its wings and took off. Happy _Expecting_ Father's Day, indeed.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: If you don't like it, I blame it on my stomach flu. I'll be giving you the missing chapter when I have the time to catch up. It may or may not be M-rated, but there WILL be action of a specific sort (haha!). <em>

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan talk to Sweets privately. Will they be mad? Will they be sympathetic? Can they ever go back to the way they were before or is Sweets going to need some therapy himself? _


	32. Week 12, day 4

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: Those who follow me on Twitter, know that I'm ill at the moment, which caused the updating delay. Thank you for EVERYONE who's wished me well. I genuinely believe it helps, because I do feel slightly better now than I did yesterday. Anyway, here's your next Hiatus fix!_

Week 12, day 4

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><p>Booth opened the door to Sweets' office and allowed Brennan to step passed him. She walked hesitantly into the room, fighting every urge she had to look up at the young man who was sitting in his chair expectantly. The air in the room smelled like lavender, probably created on purpose to create a calming atmosphere. Brennan thought back to less than a week ago, when she had felt really trapped inside this room, with all her friends attacking her, only to found out they were absolutely wrong about her. Brennan could not help but feel let down again as she remembered the events. This room's entire atmosphere was bringing her down.<p>

When she felt Booth's hand push gently against her shoulder blade, she walked around the couch in front of Sweets and sat down. The couch dipped a little as Booth sat down next to her and Brennan shifted to make more room for him. She sat back and looked at Booth, who smiled at her confidently. Sweets had requested them to come here and although Brennan had vehemently refused to at first, Booth had cut in that he probably just wanted to apologize to them. She could not refuse him that right. He was only a psychologist after all and they made their own diagnosis by listening to hear-say and interpreting it. Or misinterpreting, in this case.

Sweets was leaning back in his chair and had his fingertips placed against each other as his eyes darted from Booth to Brennan and back again. He took a deep breath, finding the right way to say his next message. "You guys are in trouble." Booth and Brennan's eyes widened simultaneously as their heads shot up to look straight at him.

"_We_ are in trouble?" Booth questioned, emphasizing the 'we' part. What the hell had they done wrong besides the fact that they had fraternized behind the FBI's back and that Booth had gotten a consultant pregnant in the process? Oh… Booth shoved himself forward so that he sat at the edge of his seat. "Wait. You _TOLD_ them?"

Sweets shook his head. "No. I didn't have to." Booth raised an eyebrow, almost ready to grab the kid by his collar and shove him up against a wall. Sweets dropped his hands and turned around in his seat. Brennan looked at Booth questioningly, until Sweets turned himself around again, holding up a picture. "For once…," he started speaking in a strict tone, "you can't pin this on me."

"Oh dear God!" Booth exclaimed, waving his hand in a throw-away gesture.

Brennan's mouth dropped open in shock. "That's us." Sweets was holding a photo of a painting from Booth and Brennan in the butterfly park. Brennan's head was lying on Booth's stomach, while Booth smiled as he was looking down at her, propped up on his elbows. On Brennan's stomach rested a small orange butterfly. Brennan was painted, laughing at the insect on her belly, her head slightly tilted upwards as her hair splayed out on Booth's lap. Did she really look like that?

She glanced at Booth, who stared at the image intently, his jaw locked in concentrated fury. This was not Brennan's fault, he thought. He should have been more careful too. They had been out in the public, in a garden that was attached right next to the museum where his girlfriend worked. His girlfriend, who was also a famous author. He could have done the math that someone was bound to run into them sooner or later. That damned painter for instance, could have been a fan of her books. "How did this get out?"

Brennan's looked down at her belly in the painting. Thankfully, it was entirely flat. Her abdomen were not bulging in any place. "The artist posted it on his website, linking to the Jeffersonian Institute and doctor Brennan's name." Sweets threw the photo out on the side table in between them. "Assistant director Hacker found it and alerted his boss, who then notified and questioned me about the two of you."

The distress was evident on Brennan's face. Sure, she was a strong woman and she had worked plenty of years before she started working with Booth, but now that their bond was about to be broken, torn apart by the powers that be, she felt her heart sink. Of course, it would be an easy decision to choose between Booth as the father of her child or Booth her working partner, but she had not foreseen a sudden severance of their working relationship. Unexpected things like these always made it harder to cope, because you had not been able to prepare yourself emotionally.

Booth bowed his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I understand you had to tell them." Booth looked Sweets into the eye. "After all, it's your job to tell them things."

Sweets leaned back in his chair and did not break the eye contact with Booth. "People define friendships differently and act different ways with other people. There is no rule that prevents working partners from being friends outside of work and therefore, I did not see how you two lying down in a park together was a valid argument for concern." Brennan's jaw dropped in surprise. "I told them you were just very close friends."

"Did they believe that?" Booth glanced over at Brennan, who had stopped tugging at her cast. It was something she did whenever she got nervous, he had come to recognize. He placed his hand in her casted one reassuringly.

Sweets smiled amicably. "They had to. I'm a well-trained psychologist with plenty of experience. I would have picked up on any progressing signals." He then got serious again as he leaned forward, with his elbows resting in his lap. "It was the least I could do after everything that occurred last week. I was wrong and I was quick with jumping to conclusions. I apologize for any distress I may have caused you, doctor Brennan."

Brennan closed her mouth again, not quite knowing what to say. Booth filled in the words for her. "Thank you, Sweets. We both appreciate it."

"I'm sorry if I made you feel inadequate or unwanted. I truly believed I was helping you." Sweets than turned to agent Booth. "I will help you keep your relationship hidden from the FBI, but they're going to find out that you're pregnant eventually and they will start asking questions. You should be prepared for that and decide how you will answer when that time comes." Sweets looked up at the ceiling as if he was looking for a way out of this. It must be hard to admit a huge professional mistake. He was very brave about that for confessing his faults and apologizing like this.

"We'll find a way," Brennan said, suddenly regaining her strength. "Just because I'm pregnant, doesn't mean that the child is Booth's. I could tell them that it was just a one night stand-"

"No, you will not!" Booth interrupted her, making Sweets and Brennan turn their heads to look at him. "I don't want you to make yourself look that cheap. We could tell them that you used a sperm donor, in case they start wondering." Booth laced his fingers through hers. "It will be okay."

Brennan nodded her head. "We should talk to Gordon-Gordon about it."

Sweets nearly jumped up from his seat. "Wow, wait! Gordon-Gordon? Why not me?" Now it was _him_ who was starting to feel inadequate. "I can offer you therapy sessions paid for by your bosses and Gordon-Gordon is not even a psychologist anymore!" They were not going to pick a chef over a perfectly qualified and registered therapist, right?

Booth gestured his hand up and down to motion for him to calm down. "We were going to talk to him about catering Bones' baby shower, it's no big deal." He knew he was going to have to wrap this conversation up quickly, because the tensions in this room was quickly reaching a constricting climax.

"I didn't know about that…" Brennan murmured, her voice trailing off. Booth rubbed his forehead with the palm of his free hand in frustration. He loved his girlfriend for being so intelligent, but sometimes he wished she would pick up on silent hints a little bit more.

He shook his head and leaned in towards Sweets' direction. "It was supposed to be a surprise, alright?"

Sweets nodded. "Okay," but the tone of his voice betrayed the fact that he was not entirely convinced. "So…are we good now? Have we cleared the air between us?"

Brennan scrunched up her nose and furrowed her brow. "I don't know what that means."

Booth chuckled. "Yes, we appreciated you being so honest with us, Sweets. Thank you for covering for us to the FBI. We would like to be able to continue working together." Sweets nodded. Good, because he wanted to be able to continue to study them while they worked together. "What do you think, Bones?"

Brennan straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat. "I think Sweets should learn to make more careful observations before assuming a diagnosis in the future and also talk to the person in question first, before confronting them with other people involved." She exhaled and released Booth's hand, so she could drop both arms in her lap. . "Other than that, I can say that I'm willing to leave that past behind us. You're intelligent enough to still learn properly from your mistakes."

Sweets smiled slightly. "Thank you doctor Brennan and agent Booth." There was a moment of silence, in which Sweets managed to gather some more of his confidence back. "Maybe you should come in again for one session per week, so I can help you balance your private life with your work."

Brennan shook her head and quickly got up from the couch, suddenly eager to leave the room. "I don't think that's necessary. We've been managing quite nicely in the past few months." Booth nodded in agreement.

Sweets quickly stood up too, while Booth helped Brennan zip her vest up before they would go back to the slightly chilly Washington air. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Booth let go of Brennan as he thought of something. "I do have one thing…" he started, earning him an expectant look from Sweets, who had never been more ready to help them with anything. "Could we have that photo maybe?" He was planning on hunting the artist down, buy the painting and then shoot the man, so that he would never put people into such an uncomfortable position again. They had never agreed to pose for him, like the man in the floral shorts had.

Sweets sighed and handed Booth the photo, perfectly aware that they would never come in for some sessions together. He was going to put his best foot forward and be extra alert to any difficulties that either partner could express. When one of them was ready to admit that being in a relationship while working together was a complicated business, he would be right there waiting for them with all the advice and support they needed.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: I'm currently very high on painkillers. I hope you can't tell. Tomorrow, I actually have to go to the hospital (as a patient!). They think my 'stomach flu' could have something to do with a surgery I had a couple of months ago… <em>

_Just to be clear: I'm a couple of days behind! I will catch up in the next couple of days. Right now, they're still on Monday. They have slept together on day 2 of this week, but I'm still writing that chapter and its sexy scenes, so you'll get that one eventually too. _

_Tomorrow: Booth and Brennan go down to Hank Booth's nursing home, after the doctor and nurses there have requested to have a meeting with them. What could be wrong? _


	33. Week 12, day 5

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's note: This chapter is for all my lovely Twitter friends who reached out to me when I announced I was in a hospital. It's true what they say, you really do get to know your true (Tweety)friends in difficult times. Much love from your very grateful AllysonHale! Xxx_

Week 12, day 5 

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><p>"Are you okay, Bones?" Booth asked for the millionth time that day as he helped Brennan get out of the car. She had been feeling a little dizzy and he was not fully convinced that it was only caused by the long drive, like she had been trying to make him believe. He wrapped one hand around her elbow and steadied her as she stepped out, earning him an exhausted glare. "Yeah, I know. You're not disabled." He let go of her elbow so he could wrap his arm around her waist. "But you <em>are<em> my pregnant girlfriend."

Brennan chuckled at Booth's possessive gesture. "You should consider yourself lucky that I kind of like having you around." Seven years ago, he would have lost his arm. Booth closed the car's door and locked it.

"Kind of?" Booth teased. It was a lovely summer afternoon and the gentle weather had lifted their spirits. They had even put some music on in the car. Together, they walked across the parking lot and to the nursing home's entrance where Booth's grandfather lived. It was a large three-story building, where hundreds of elderly people lived. The north side, where Hank lived, housed apartments for elderly that needed some general care. The much larger south side consisted of several wards for people with dementia, rehabilitation after a stroke and for those who were transferred from the hospital to recover after surgery.

"I'm going to have to find a bathroom somewhere around here," Brennan remarked as they entered the building through glass sliding doors. They entered an open area with a reception desk in the middle. Behind it was a restaurant with a small shop next to it. To their left was a small hairdresser's saloon. Brennan looked around in amazement. This place was like a small self-sufficient community. Those who did not want to leave the building, did not have to.

Booth cocked an eyebrow as he paused in their stride to the reception desk, already causing a woman behind it to look up at them questioningly. "Again?" He asked her, partly in disbelief and also because he was genuinely concerned. "Do you have a bladder infection or something?"

Brennan shook her head reassuringly. "No, I just have to go all the time because of increased blood flow in that area. It's very common during pregnancy. You have nothing to worry about, Booth, please." He had been fussing over her ever since she stumbled, ever so slightly, after they got out of the car to put some gas in. Brennan just needed to get some fresh air then, but Booth was already jumping to disaster scenarios of dehydration again. Though she enjoyed his close proximity and his involvement, sometimes his endless concern for her made her a little bit uneasy.

He looked deeply into her pale blue eyes and nodded, finding no traces of hesitation there. "Alright. Let's ask where to go." They stepped forward towards the woman who had already been eyeing them, tipping the glasses back on her nose. "Hello. My wife and I had an appointment with Ms. Donna Summers and we're also looking for a ladies room." Booth announced.

Brennan slipped her hand underneath Booth's jacket and pinched the skin of his back teasingly as he introduced her as his wife. Booth reached behind himself as he grabbed her wrist and pushed it away. He guided it back to their front and petted her hand with his palm as he smiled at her. The receptionist raised an eyebrow at them. "The bathroom is right behind you." She pointed past them, making Booth and Brennan turn around. Oh, right next to the hairdresser.

Brennan then turned her head to look at Booth. "I find your coordinative ability somewhat lacking today," she confessed with a playful glint in her eye. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly into an amused smirk.

"Well, what can I say? That's why the car navigators are called TomTom's and not SaraSara's." They were on a roll today, teasing each other at every opportunity that posed for them. Booth liked it when they were like this: light-hearted and so comfortable around each other that they could almost say anything without any shame. Booth shrugged his shoulders casually. "That, and because women prefer to be led by a man."

Brennan pursed her lips together in mock annoyance as she lightly punched his shoulder. "That's a very sexist remark, Seeley Booth!" But the grin across her face was very evident as she walked off into the bathroom's direction. Booth chuckled as he turned himself back to the receptionist who was staring back at him with very little amusement.

"I'll call Ms. Summers and tell her that you're here."

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><p>Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Brennan unbuttoned her loose cotton pants and shoved them down her legs along with her panties. As she sat down on the toilet seat, she looked down at her colored underwear and frowned. She tugged a strand of hair behind her ear as she examined it more closely. That was weird… she was certain these tiny dark spots had not been there before…<p>

* * *

><p>When Brennan emerged from the room, Booth had been waiting for her, leaning with his back against the wall right next to the door. Brennan felt her heart skip a beat as she saw his face so close to her. She had not expected him to be right here. She swallowed nervously as she met his smile. "Hey!" He greeted her with a laugh, but his brow quickly furrowed when he noticed how pale her skin appeared to be. Had he missed that a few minutes ago? "Are you okay?"<p>

Brennan nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. How many more times do I have to tell you?"

Booth's shoulders relaxed as she linked her arm through his and buried her face against the smooth material of his jacket. She was fine, right? A little spotting was very common in pregnancy. Booth pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe about the same times as the amount of breaths you take?"

* * *

><p>Head nurse and department coordinator Donna Summers was a stout woman with ginger hair and light brown eyes. She had greeted Booth and Brennan with a firm handshake before she led them through a light hallway, with modern art hanging from strings that ran from the ceiling down the walls. Brennan frowned. It appeared to be painted backgrounds with some 3-d aliens standing or dancing in the front. She did not see the entertainment value of the works. In fact, one painting with a baby doll's face in the back and some alien's tentacles reaching across it, just looked plain scary to her. Unconsciously, her free hand travelled towards her belly, gently tapping it with her fingertips. It was a gesture that had not gone unnoticed by Booth.<p>

When they entered her office, they ran into a big oval table. Ms. Summers sat down on the side that was close to the wall and for a slight moment, Booth worried that she would not fit into the limited amount of space, but she managed just fine. A young intern offered them coffee or tea as the head nurse placed a block of papers and a pen in front of her on the table. Just how serious was this conversation going to get?

Booth gratefully took his coffee and decided to look at his girlfriends to calm his nerves a little. She was occupied stirring her tea with a white plastic spoon, even though she had not added any sugar or milk to it. She was lost in thoughts too.

Donna broke the silence by reaching for a phone from the desk behind her. "Just a minute. I will call the doctor to come over." Booth looked up in surprise. Doctor? What was going on? "Don't worry. Nothing acute is going on. Your grandfather is in his apartment, doing just fine," she attempted to reassure him. "The doctor will just be here to explain some things to you. It's customary for him to be present during family consultations."

"Okay." Booth agreed. He felt Brennan curl her hand around his knee comfortingly and he smiled at her. She had gotten way more attuned to him and his emotions than she would let herself believe. He was very grateful to have her.

The attending doctor was Dr. Simmons, a man close to his pension with friendly eyes. After greeting Booth and Brennan, he sat down next to Donna and folded his hands together. Booth kept his face as blank as possible as he drank from his coffee, imagining it to be his good scotch. Brennan had barely touched her tea, except for with her spoon. The doctor took a deep breath before he started talking: "Thank you very much for coming here today. We would like to talk you about your grandfather, mister Booth, because you are listed as his first contact."

Booth nodded. His grandmother had passed away, his father was missing in action and he had been his grandfather's only son. Jared was…being Jared, so it had been nothing more than natural that Booth would step up and take the responsibility of being his grandfather's first contact and make sure he had everything he needed.

"If I may ask, how do _you_ think mister Booth is doing?" The doctor emphasized the word 'you', signaling the importance of Booth's very own opinion. It also became very obvious to Booth that this was not going to be one of these meetings in which they evaluated his grandfather's care plan, like he had originally believed it would be.

Booth scratched the side of his face unconsciously, thinking hard to himself. If he had to be really honest with himself, he had not visited his Pops as regularly as he used to. Especially in the past few months, life and work had gotten in the way and filled up his schedule very quickly. Now that Bones was pregnant, he was glad he had managed a phone call every now and then. "I uh…I think he's fine. Same old Pops to me." Booth said, shrugging his shoulders, looking to Brennan for confirmation she obviously could not provide him with. She was looking at him in silent support. "But I guess that you have a different opinion, otherwise you wouldn't have called me here."

The nurse and the doctor turned their heads to look at each other, sharing a look of mutual understanding. The doctor leaned forward in his seat as Ms. Summers continued to scribble some notes down on her paper. "We…lately we've noticed some signs that may indicate some form of cognitive impairment." Brennan gasped in understanding, while Booth waited anxiously to learn more. "We would like your permission to screen your grandfather for dementia."

"What?" Booth called out questioningly. "No, Pops does not have Alzheimer's!" He sat back in his seat and raised his chin somewhat defiantly. He was willing to believe a lot of things, but this was not one of them. His grandfather always knew who he was and never mistook a situation in the present for the past. This was simply not possible. The staff here were just looking for something to pin him down on.

The features in Donna's face softened in understanding of Booth's powerlessness and disbelief. "There are different forms of dementia. It doesn't have to be Alzheimer's necessarily." She leaned her head to the side, her ginger hair moving with her. "Nurses have reported that he's frequently been asking the same questions repeatedly. He forgets to take his medication frequently, so since two weeks, we're handing them to him at the appropriate times." She was quiet for a while, giving Booth a minute to let all the news sink in. "These are just a few relatively small observations, but his aggression towards the staff has also increased lately. As soon as your grandfather feels slightly pressured into doing something, anything at all, he can lash out verbally or physically aggressive. Especially towards male nurses."

Booth's eyes dropped down to his coffee as he shook his head. "That does not sound like Pops at all."

"Personality change is also a symptom of dementia, although that usually does not happen until a further advanced state. The aggression could be a way of him coping with his loss of identity. He knows something is wrong. He knows he can't remember everything and being confronted with that fact, by nurses for instance, can make him feel really inadequate," the doctor explained. "It's a very understandable reaction and we see it a lot in elderly with early symptoms. The test could prove our point or prove us wrong. Either way, it will give us a better understanding of how we could help to provide your grandfather with care that he will experience as comfortable."

Brennan bit her lip nervously, glancing at Booth who was still looking shocked. He had not seen that coming at all. How many elderly people repeated a question every now and then? How many young people forgot to take their medication? Not all of them suffered from dementia! "W-what will you do if you find out whether or not he does suffer from dementia?"

The doctor turned to look at Brennan. "It depends on the outcome. If it turns out that he does have that, we'll have a geriatrician specify his type and stage of dementia further and we'll discuss whether staying in this apartment will be good for him in the long run or if it might be better for him to go somewhere else to receive specific care. If he does not have it, we might have our psychologist talk to him. Find out what is causing this change of behavior in him."

Brennan suddenly felt a band of fear constrict around her throat. Personality changes, memory loss… she had witnessed it before. "What about neurological causes? Brain tumors can cause these symptoms too!" She was unaware of the fact that she had slightly raised her voice. Booth knew that she was visualizing him in a hospital bed again. He felt like gathering her up in his arms and rock her gently, letting her know that he was not going anywhere. He was just fine now.

The doctor opened his palms. "If need be, we could rule that out as well."

"Good! 'Cause…" Brennan's words got stuck in her throat as she tried to swallow these damned tears at the bad memory away. "Seeley had it too." She then looked down at her lap and breathed out slowly, trying to get her emotions back under control.

Booth placed his arm on the back of her chair, rubbing her upper arm with his hand soothingly. She never used his first name when she referred to him. Things were starting to hit a little close to home. He looked up from the doctor to the nurse and then back again. "Do it." He complied, practically feeling his heart bleed in his chest.

* * *

><p>When they left the room, Booth was holding Brennan's hand in his. She moved to walk left, but he guided her to the right with a slight tug at her healthy arm. She stared up at him in confusion. "Don't you want to go see your grandfather now?"<p>

Booth shook his head. It had been enough for one day. He could barely stop himself from crying and if they were to visit Pops now, only to find out that the nurse had been right all along about all these symptoms, he knew he was just going to break down in tears right there. That was not going to help either of them. "Not right now. I just want to go home and go to bed early. It would not hurt us to get some more sleep. Especially not you."

Brennan decided not to fight him on this. Looking after her was something very important to him, she had come to learn. Sometimes, it was better to just let him be. He was right, after all. She was exhausted.

* * *

><p>Brennan walked into his bathroom on bare feet, wearing one of Booth's very long t-shirts in which she did not have to wear pajama bottoms to cover her buttocks. The spotting had not stopped yet, but it had not gotten worse either. Booth was lying on his side, his back facing her and Brennan knew that now was not a good time to tell him about it. She could tell by the movement of his chest that he was still awake, probably crying in silence. Booth did that.<p>

She stepped forward towards the bed and gently pulled the covers down as she sat on the mattress and shuffled her legs underneath the sheets. The mattress dipped as she moved herself closer to Booth. Strength was important to him and she had only seen his tears on very few occasions. One of them had been the time that she had turned him down when he had confessed his love for her. Looking back on that time now, she wished she would have taken the plunge then and saved themselves a lot of sorrow and heart ache later on.

Hesitantly, she placed her casted arm above her head as she spooned herself against his back, pressing her belly against him and resting her cheek against his naked shoulder. She wrapped her free arm around his waist and she pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder blade. She had been right. He was still awake and did not say anything as he raised one hand up to squeeze hers, giving her the silent affirmation that he was glad with her presence.

"It's okay, Booth. I'm here." She felt him take a shaky breath as she let the side of her face lean against his muscular back. "I will help you get through this."

She was glad she got the chance to help him now, after all the times he fought for her, kissed her tears and insecurities away. She felt him shift in her arm and he turned himself to face her. His eyes looked blood-shot from the crying and Brennan was glad that she had not waited any longer to join him in his bed. One of his hands traveled down to her lower abdomen, until he found the minor swelling there and he placed his palm against it. "New life blossoms while older ones wither, right?"

Brennan placed her own hand on top of Booth's as she looked him deeply into the eye. "We're all going to be alright, Booth. I promise you. Nothing is going to have to wither." She did not know how else to convince him, other than leaning in and kissing him ever so softly. He accepted it gratefully, remembering that this was going to be his family now and that Brennan would allow a place for his grandfather in it too. Maybe it was not rational, but truth be told, they had not been handling things too rationally for quite a while now and so far, it had suited them quite well.

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><p><em>AllyH's Note: I hope to update regularly again, assuming that my health gets better. The antibiotics are working great, so I expect to make a perfect recovery very soon. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to know when I'll post the next, follow me on Twitter, if you did not already. I'm AllysonHale. <em>

_Several of you have been asking me if I will continue this story all the way until November. Well, I'm not sure yet. For now, I'm loving this story and it's a welcome distraction from the hiatus for me too. But maybe, you'll get bored of it or I might run out of inspiration or something else in my life could come up. I won't say that I will NOT do it, at this point, because it has its regular readers coming back for it every day and you provide me with (mostly) positive feedback. Me getting sick has only strengthened this understanding of how many great people I got to meet through this effort and I'm currently not willing to give it all up. But, who knows what will happen in between? November is still so far away, even though life is short. Let's wait, read and write on, tweet/laugh/war together and enjoy it for now. I sure do. _

_Tomorrow: Bringing up Booth's family has caused some emotions to stir up in Brennan as well. She visits her mother's grave and runs into someone while she's there. Friend or foe? That's the question! _


	34. Week 12, day 6

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Note: Thank you so much for the kindest responses to my latest chapter. Now, how will I ever be able to refuse you anything?_

Week 12, day 6

"_Everything I lost is so different, but this is how everybody gets found." – Mandy Moore, 'Gardenia'_

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><p>The gravel underneath her shoes grated as Brennan made her way through the cemetery, walking past the graves of so many past lives. She was staring down at her feet, partly out of respect for the dead, but mostly because she felt uncomfortable being here. All these messages on the tomb stones were screaming at her how much the people buried underneath would be missed and confronted her with all the emotions that she so easily overlooked professionally. Death brought grieve among loved ones, it was as simple as that.<p>

She remembered the way to her mother's grave exactly. It was the first path to the left, after the pink blossom tree. Brennan sighed as she stepped in front of her mother's tombstone and looked at her surroundings. Her mother's grave was well-kept. The headstone was clean and fresh flowers laid in front of it. Brennan knelt down on the grass as she stared at the engraved letters. _'In Memoriam: Christine Brennan. Beloved mother of Russ and Temperance.' _ When she examined other graves around her, she notices how some looked really worn-down or were overgrown with moss. She cocked her head to the side. Somebody had been taking care of her mother's grave. Her father probably.

Brennan dropped her weight to the side, so that she sat down on her buttocks. Kneeling was getting really uncomfortable really quickly. She had not visited her mother in years. She had always needed Booth or Angela's encouragement to go here, because she found it difficult to see the significance of meeting up with bunch of bones buried underneath the earth. Today, she had come over entirely on her own account, cradling a small bouquet of daisies in her right hand. She gently laid it down next to some other flowers, before she sat back and gazed at the tomb stone.

_Christine Brennan._ This was the closest she was ever going to be able to get to her mother. Booth used to urge her to talk to her mother here. Even though the dead could not respond to her rationally, he had tried to convince her that they would always reply in signs. She could use anything right now; a rumble from the sky, a ray of light…anything that could make her understand. "Mom." Brennan started, unconsciously leaning in towards the gravestone. "I'm pregnant."

She paused for a while, physically shaking her head at herself. What the hell was she doing, talking to silence and even expecting some form of response? People only did these kind of dramatic things in books and movies. Then again, maybe the reflection would do her good as well. Brennan took a deep breath as she started tugging on the edges of the blue cast on her arm. "Booth's the father and… he needs me right now for support. I have to form a family, but I'm not quite sure how." Brennan swallowed back a lump of emotions and she bit her lip with her incisor. "I wish that you were here right now, to show me how."

Naturally, no reply ever came, but Brennan did not get up yet. "I'm really pregnant now. Almost thirteen weeks, when the chances of miscarriage drop to about three percent and abortion is no longer possible." Brennan looked away from the grave stone to gaze up at the blossoming trees. "I'm happy, but I feel unsure of so many things. I wish I knew how to cope with that and—"

"Tempe!" Brennan quickly scrambled to her feet and stood up as she heard someone call her name from a small distance. Her eyes rested on a man standing a few feet away from her on the graveled path and she straightened her posture.

"Russ?" She questioned. He smiled when he approached her slowly, with both of his hands tucked in her pockets. "What are you doing here?" Honestly, it was the first question that came to her mind when she saw her brother. She liked him a lot, but she could not help but have an odd feeling towards him. After all, he had abandoned her at age fifteen and had not decided to get back into her life until almost fifteen years later.

He ignored the stern tone in her voice as he chuckled slightly. "Visiting mom, just like you. How have you been, besides pregnant?"

Brennan blinked her eyes a few times in confusion, before she narrowed them at him. "Did dad tell you or have you just been eavesdropping on me?" Her father and her brother were much closer with each other than she had been with either of them, so it was a logical deduction that he had gotten his information there. Nevertheless, Brennan did not like the thought that she was discussed between them, without knowing what was said about her.

Russ nodded his head. "Dad told me, but you also have that infamous pregnancy glow that I could spot yards away." When he was close enough to stand in front of her, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "These rosy cheeks look good on you. You're very beautiful." Russ leaned down to place a quick kiss on his sister's forehead. "So, when can I meet my first niece or nephew?"

Brennan was still feeling somewhat overwhelmed. "At the end of this year." Brennan placed her casted arm over her belly protectively as she looked down her body. Sometimes she found herself wishing that she was further along already, so that the baby could give a sign of life. She was looking forward to the days where she would feel a kick, letting her know that everything was alright.

Russ frowned, feeling a change in his sister's mood. Suddenly, she looked concerned rather than ecstatic to tell him all about it. "Tempe? Is something wrong?" Brennan exhaled slowly, pondering the question of whether or not to talk to him about it. What would be the benefit of letting _him _know? "Hey, I'm your big brother. You can tell me anything. I might actually be able to help." He tried to meet her eye. "…or at least give you some advice."

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "I'm scared I might lose the baby. Yesterday, I started spotting and…that's never happened before. I'm almost in my second trimester…so close to a bigger advantage in miscarriage statistics, but I'm actually starting to doubt these numbers now. Science tells me that there is a ninety-seven percent chance I'll deliver a healthy baby, but emotionally I'm scared of being one of the other three percent." Brennan threw her hands up in despair. There, now she finally got it off of her chest.

"You don't have to worry." He spoke, making Brennan look up hopefully. "I met Amy when she was pregnant with her second child. She had some spotting frequently, up to her twentieth week!" Brennan still did not feel entirely reassured, although it was only a gut feeling. Maybe she should just call in with Analeigh later; the young midwife would know more about it than her brother, she presumed. "That's not all that's been bothering you, is it?"

Brennan gasped. What, was she like an open book now? If she did not have Booth hovering around her or Angela watching her every move, she now had her brother observing her like a microscope specimen. "I…I just don't know… I'm not sure how to be a family for…my family." Brennan hesitantly named Booth and their unborn child her family as she suddenly realized that Booth and her, though they will be connected through their baby, would not be related to each other.

Russ noticed her casted arm for the first time when she raised her broken arm up, so her healthy one could support it by placing a hand on the elbow. He did not remember his father ever mentioning that to him. For the moment, he decided to reply to her comment first and ask questions later. "You should listen to your heart; go with your own instincts." Brennan cocked a questioning eyebrow at him. "Don't overthink too much. Don't read a library worth of parenting books, because you should just be you and not become an evidence based practicing robot."

Brennan thought for a while as she looked back at her mother's grave. "That's not very helpful," she concluded. "You're only telling me what not to do. I need to know what it is that I should!"

"You should do as you feel is right, I did say that." Russ kicked up some gravel with the tip of his shoe. "No one can tell you what is right for you. Only you yourself can determine what that is. For me, it's being honest and following through on promises or warnings I give to the girls. Maybe, you are more of a peacekeeper and someone who rather keeps her feelings inside." Russ shrugged his shoulders. "You'll know what I'm talking about soon enough."

Brennan sighed. He made everything look so simple. Booth had that 'quality' too. Speaking of that good man… "Booth is upset. His grandfather is suspected to have dementia and I just want to make him feel better." Brennan noticed a colored stone lying next to her mother's tomb stone and she bent down to pick it up. Curly letters were engraved into it _'Yours forever'_ it read. That one was definitely her father's. "I've tried talking to him, wrapping my arms around him, making sure he wasn't alone…" Brennan placed the stone back on its former place.

"Maybe that was exactly what he needed you to do. Tempe, if you pretended to be something you're not, you wouldn't help him. He likes you for you!" Russ threw his arms up towards the warm sun and stretched his back.

His sister stood up straight again as she too, looked up at the warm sky and let the sun warm her skin. "But I'm far from perfect."

Russ smiled. "Maybe that's what he likes about you. Everyone has their own imperfections and he so happens to be attracted to yours."

Like the way she felt attached to his as well. Booth got needlessly concerned in harmless situations, had absolutely no understanding of anthropology and he often cut her off in mid-sentence to outsmart her, but that was something typically him and she would not change it for the world. Finally, that nervous feeling that had metaphorically wrapped itself around her heart was lifted a little. True love really did exist. Even after all these years that she had been gone, her father still came over here to honor his wife. _That _was her sign, along with meeting her brother here. "You're right." Brennan spoke under her breath. "I should get back, see if he needs anything, even though he's been taking more care of me." If it had not been for that damned cast—

"What happened to your arm?"

Brennan looked at the blue shield on her left arm. "I broke it during a fainting spell."

Russ' head snapped up instantly. "Fainting and spotting, Tempe? Maybe you should reschedule your obstetrician's appointment, just to make sure that everything is alright." He suggested. Gosh, if she had mentioned that symptom earlier in this conversation, he would have spoken to her in a different way.

"I have a midwife, no obstetrician or gynecologist. But I will." Analeigh had told her several times that she could call her at any time if need be, or even if it was not urgent and she just had a question. Some in between consultation would not hurt anybody. "Just not today. I want to go home to Booth now."

Russ nodded his head. "Tell him I said 'hi'. Okay?" Brennan agreed to do that and asked him to wish Amy and the girls well. They promised to call each other soon to plan a small get-together of the families.

As she strolled back to her car, her keys dancing on her fingers, her thoughts trailed back to Booth and what he could possibly have perceived as signs from her dead mother. She felt reassured and more confident that she would turn out alright, along with Booth and the growing lime in her tummy. Yet, tomorrow she would officially reach the mark of her second trimester and that put things into a different perspective. With most of the pregnancy-risks gone now, their situation seemed much more definitive than they did a month ago.

"We have to talk." Brennan spoke to herself as she stepped through the gates and walked out of the cemetery. She would do that as soon as possible, if only to calm her nerves. She had made up her mind about a few things today and she wanted to know his opinion on these matters as well. She was strong enough now. She reached up to the silver dolphin necklace that she was wearing and touched it slightly with her fingertips. Love existed. Families existed. Nothing suggested that she and Booth could not pull it off together. _Thank you, mom_, Brennan thought, although she rationally knew that she would not be heard.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's note: Finally, I'm posting again. I miss it so much! My health is not as perfect as I hoped or thought it was. Oh well. I have medicine and a good doctor (who's not entirely unattractive either, but that is completely besides the point). <em>

_A few other summer projects have come up for me and they might screw up my posting schedule a little (more)! _

_I got a new job at the same nursing home I worked for earlier, but now I'll be a first-in-line nurse working on a stroke ward. This does not change a thing, since I'm used to working full-time and posting every day still. __I was called by my modeling agency that they want to send me to Greece for a couple of weeks. Further details are negotiated right now, but if that all follows through, I might not be able to post every day. __AND I'm moving out of the place I'm staying now. It was a quick decision I had to make a couple of days ago. I'm sad and excited and stressed at the same time. I don't know when yet or how many days I'll need to get settled in to a new place, but I do know that I will have to leave eventually._

_I will keep you all posted here and on Twitter (I'm still AllysonHale) to let you know how and if things develop any further. _

_Tomorrow (let's hope so!): Booth and Brennan celebrate the end of her first trimester by going out to dinner, while they discuss some things that were previously left untouched. So what exactly are their views now on living arrangements, daycare and dare-I-write-it marriage?_

_Later this week: VERY angsty chapter. I'm not going to say anything more about it, except for the fact that you SHOULD worry. But for who…?_


	35. Week 12, day 7

**Hiatus **by Allyson H.

_AllyH's Notes: It's been a terrible, busy week with NO internet except for the one on my cellphone and job. But, here it is, cause I haven't been doing nothing, of course!_

Week 12, day 7

"_So love like my soldier. Fight for what's true. And smile at the gates, 'cause their hate don't belong to you." – Anna Nalick, 'Soldier'_

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><p>"Happy second trimester, Bones!" Booth raised his glass of wine and clinked it with her glass of fresh orange juice. He looked at her from the corner of his eye as they both took a sip from their drink. It was a little after midnight and luckily, this was downtown Washington D.C., where you could have dinner during breakfast times if you wanted to. Booth had taken her to a restaurant on the corner of a street, so they could look outside and gaze at the people who only come out when it is dark.<p>

Brennan had dressed up nicely for the occasion, as had Booth. He wore one of his dark suits and even a fancy matching tie, while she had put on a neat red dress that reached just slightly above her knee. She had curled her hair and applied some smoky make-up to her eye-lids. She looked gorgeous, especially now that she had a barely visible bump on her lower abdomen and Booth could not take his eyes off of her. "On to the third and the final one." Brennan said, placing her glass down on the table.

The perfect thing about dinners at night was that it made for a quiet atmosphere in the restaurant. A few couples were seated here and there, but it was not the usual bustle of waitresses and people hanging at the bar. It was a perfect place to talk some serious matters over, which was exactly what Brennan planned to do. She waited until Booth received his chicken soup and she received her tomato salad. "I think we should discuss some things…like living arrangements." Brennan spoke in a soft voice, feeling a little hesitant to learn Booth's reaction.

He appeared only mildly surprised when she brought the subject up. He gave her a small reassuring smile, before he picked up his spoon. "Do you have an idea of what you would like to do?" He wanted to give her as much space as she needed, to make sure that he would not crowd or frighten her. Yet, this was maybe a bit too much room for opinion.

Brennan shrugged her shoulders, her long earrings dancing against her skin. "I find that waking up with you and living with you is very enjoyable." Brennan started, taking a deep breath as she decided to look away from him. "But I don't know how things will be when we have a baby with us."

Booth took a spoonful of his chicken soup and held it in front of his mouth. "Probably, we will only get closer." Booth replied casually before putting the spoon in his mouth. He then remembered that she could not cut her food with her left arm in a cast, so he pushed his bowl to the side and reached for her plate.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah." Booth used his knife and fork to cut her salad into edible pieces for her. The blue cast clashed with the red material of her dress, but that did not matter. She looked gorgeous in anything and in the past weeks, he had come to embrace the cast as a part of her. She had not yet been able to do the same. "Our baby is going to be a part from either of us and we'll love it and take care of him or her together. We would work together as partners in the field and as parents at home. There's nothing we can't do when we're together."

Brennan smiled and looked to the side. Booth had her, alright. "And we actually like each other."

"_Love_ each other," Booth corrected, seeing the smirk appear on her face. She had chosen these words purposely, knowing that he would respond to that. These old habits of bickering and alerting each other to mistakes or wrong phrases would die hard, assuming these would ever leave at all.

"Would you want to live with me?" Brennan asked hesitantly, fighting the urge to nervously bite her lip again. This was the definitely the best place to have this discussion. Neither of them had to feel uncomfortable sharing their feelings in the other one's apartment. If Booth was to say no, she could chose to just excuse herself to the bathroom or walk away. Still, this was important for her to know.

Booth finished cutting her food for her and placed her plate back in front of her, before he let out a slow breath and met her eye, searching hers. "Yes."

Brennan felt slightly taken aback by his determinacy and his quick reply. "Really?" She questioned. She knew she was beautiful, smart and sexually compatible with him, but living with her would bring to light so much qualities and not all of them good. She cared too much about him not to warn him about that. "I work long hours, nights if I have to. In my free time, I'm occupied with writing crime novels." Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not easy and I don't understand everything you say to me. I dislike cooking and I'm scared of failing. Always scared of failing. Especially with you."

Booth leaned forward over the table. "Sometimes, I'm too lazy to sort out my mail and I let it pile up until I get reminders via text message telling me to pay the bills. I wake up in the middle of the night after a long day, craving grilled cheese sandwiches. I wrecked one of Pops' cars once when I was younger and my favorite color is blue." He reached for Brennan's hand and placed his on top of hers. "Bones, we all have our oddities and mysterious ways. No one is perfect!"

"You're pretty close," Brennan said, with a small smile. She leaned her head to the side, swaying her hair along with her. "You prepare my meals, shower me with gifts or whatever else I need and you always make me feel better. I can never live up to that."

Booth's hand moved up to brush her hair back from her shoulder. "You could never fail me."

Brennan's lips parted in awe at the feelings and emotions that were coursing through her at this very minute. It was a simple statement that he made, completely based on subjectivity and his own opinion, but the latter was exactly what meant the most to her. The serious look on his face let her know that he meant what he said. "I find I would really like to kiss you right now."

Booth smiled and took her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing it ever so softly like only a real gentleman would do. Brennan was about to protest that this gesture was not what she meant, but Booth managed to silence her just in time, by nipping at her fingertips playfully. "Later," he promised, his eyebrows raised in a suggestive manner. "For now, we should enjoy our starters, huh Bones?"

Brennan retreated her hand with a chuckle. "You're just scared that the waiters will think bad of you if we kissed right here," she concluded, picking up her fork and poking at her salad. She gasped when she felt Booth's hand land on the naked skin of her knee and she looked up at him in shock.

"You should be more concerned that I wouldn't be able to stop if we did." Flashing her a naughty grin, Booth then turned his attention to his soup and neatly sipped from his spoon. Brennan watched his every move in fascination and she bit the inside of her cheek. Him losing control sounded really good to her right now.

* * *

><p>"Rationally, I know that there are still so many things that could go wrong, but… I feel so relieved that we got through this first trimester the way that we did." Brennan took a sip from her orange juice as she placed a hand on the slight bulge on her lower abdomen. Booth had ordered a dessert, but Brennan was so full that all she really wanted was a decaf coffee. "Analeigh is very competent. I'm happy to have someone like her delivering our baby. I'm pleased with a lot of things, the way they are now."<p>

Booth watched her as she spoke her words from the heart. "Aw, Bones… Soon you're going to tell me that you're thinking about marriage too," he teased her a little.

Brennan's head snapped up. "I do think about marriage." Booth's mouth dropped open. "I… no longer consider it an impossibility. Maybe, in the future, I would like to engage in marriage. With you."

Booth straightened his back as he looked at her intently. "Wow, Bones. You always said you didn't believe in marriage." He could practically feel his heart flutter in his chest. This was his Bones, telling him that she considered contracting her love for him. His Bones, who claimed not to need a piece of paper to confirm love and dedication, had been weighing the option of this sort of permanent commitment. To have and to hold. Booth and Booth-Brennan forever.

Brennan shook her head. "No, it is just that I could never think of a good reason for me to enter into marriage!" Her mouth felt very dry suddenly and Booth's intense look at her brought along her urge to swallow nervously. She could not take her eyes off of him at this moment, to allow herself another sip of her drink. Whenever he was watching her like this, she felt special. Only he could make her feel like she was all that mattered to him, that he was all he could see and that there was no bustling city behind them, no work waiting for them tomorrow. "You, our baby and this happiness that I experience in your presence…" she paused, licking her very dry lips, "these all seem like very valid reasons to me."

"Bones…" His eyes were shining with love and admiration, as he grabbed her healthy hand on the table and laced his fingers through hers. "Whenever you're ready, you can let me know and I will ask you to marry me. I'll get you a ring, I'll even get down on one knee if you'd like me to and I'll make it memorable experience. Just let me know."

Brennan looked down at their hands and could not help but unscientifically noticing how well they fit together. "I could ask you too."

"Well, I'm a traditional kind of guy, Bones. I'd like to be the one to propose. And yes, I know how pro-feminism you are, but please, will you let me have that?" Brennan smiled. "It would mean a lot to me."

"So, when I'm ready, I have to propose to you to propose to me?"

Booth shook his head. "You can just give me a sign. Or tell me a word, so that I'll know." The confusion was written all over her face. "I don't mean this to be a game, Bones. I would just really like to get the chance to do this for you. With you. After all, this third time that I do it will be the charm."

Brennan nodded. Typically Booth to want to take charge in this part of their relationship. He was the alpha male and he wanted to make her his personally. She kind of liked this about him. "What would you like me to do or say to alert you?"

Booth thought for a while as he gave her hand a small squeeze. Brennan was so caught up in shamelessly staring at her, that she barely registered a waiter placing down a cup of fake coffee in front of her. "You can tap your heart twice…" Booth placed his palm to the left side of his chest and tapped it, "and tell me 'alteration'."

"Alteration?"

"Yes, because when I ask you to marry me and you accept, we'll officially change our marital status. We'll alter data, the way people will see us, the way people will treat you when you go out to a bar and they see a beautiful ring on your finger…" Booth said, knowing in the back of his head that a marriage would be reported to the FBI immediately and they would not be able to hide anywhere from them anymore. He did not want her to think about that yet. "But we will still be us. We will be the only thing that won't change."

Brennan sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll do it." She squeezed his hand back before releasing him and picking up her cup of coffee, not wanting it to go cold. "Whenever I'm ready I'll let you know. Then you can do whatever you like whenever you're ready." This way, nobody would get hurt.

"Bones?" She looked up at him at the mention of her oh-so-familiar nickname. "Would you like to live with me?"

Was this a half-proposal already? Brennan thought back on their entire conversation, on seeing Booth's sleepy face in the morning, on feeling his arms around her at night, on her very strong feelings for him. "Yes." She said. "I do."

"When would you like us to start living together? And where?" In Booth's fantasy world, she would pack her bags right this night and move into his cosy apartment. Realistically however, he knew that he did not have the room in his place to house her, Parker and their little lime in the coconut. There was simply no space for a nursery and he wanted to be able to give their child anything. Even if it meant giving up his own apartment and selling some of his interior.

Booth remembered suddenly that ice cream melted and quickly set himself to the task of eating his dessert. There would be plenty of opportunity for him to stare at his girlfriend later. "I think it would be best if we found ourselves a new place to live together." Brennan was done with her own apartment that reminded her of Peter, who had once lived with her too. Booth's place still had Hannah's spirit hanging around in the closets, strands of her hair underneath the furniture that was hard to vacuum and Booth had some boxes with her stuff downstairs in his basement. "We should go somewhere new to make our own memories."

"I agree." Booth said. "Start a new life together." He liked the idea of them moving together in a place that would be theirs entirely. He would paint the walls, do all the heavy lifting and put nails into the walls while she could direct him and make herself comfortable in an easy chair. "But Bones, if that really is what you want, we should go apartment hunting soon. The bigger your belly gets, the more uncomfortable you'll be walking around with a sore back. Let alone move somewhere else."

Brennan smiled. "Then I guess we have our work cut out for us."

"We do."

Brennan chuckled suddenly, out of nowhere. She laughed at the overwhelming sensations and situations. A year ago, she believed she would stay alone for the rest of her life. Now she was making plans with her wonderful partner to live together, to maybe get married one day. In six months, they were going to have a baby. Life could not get much better than this, she was sure of it. Then she remembered another topic they still needed to discuss: "Booth, what about daycare? We both work and neither of us can stay home during the day. I mean, I don't want to quit—"

"You don't have to, Bones, your career means a lot to you and that's understandable. Rebecca had a babysitter for Parker. She would come in the morning and stay home with him until Rebecca came home from work. She was a kind elderly woman who was very good to him. She played games with him, prepared his meals and bathed him…" Brennan listened carefully. These things, she did not have any experience with yet. "I think that would be better for the baby than putting him or her into some sort of facility with a dozen of crying kids and overworked daycare leaders."

Brennan saw Booth smile at the fond memories of little Parker. It pleased her that she would be able to give that to him too. He missed Parker a lot, but she knew he was looking forward to being able to be involved fully into this baby's life. "Do you think you could maybe get a phone number? It could be worth a try," Brennan suggested.

"I'll be sure to do that. Our lime will only get the best and not a single this less, mark my words." Booth finished eating his ice cream. Luckily, the contact he had with Rebecca went fine. They were not friends, but they were both responsible and reasonable people that got along well enough to make appointments and agreements concerning Parker. He did not foresee any backlash in telling Rebecca that Bones was pregnant.

"Would you like something to drink?" Brennan asked when Booth put down his spoon and sat back in his chair to throw his girlfriend another appreciating look. She was glad he enjoyed seeing her in this outfit. She was starting to feel a little self-conscious about her belly. Sometimes she worried she was so big that she would not fit into her lab coat anymore, while other times she was scared that she was not big enough. Her thoughts seemed to change along with the weather sometimes.

Booth watched her as she reached up with her casted arm, to stretch the heavier limb and he suddenly noticed how perfect the color of the cast matched the pale blue of her eyes. There was absolutely nothing in this world that could make her look less pretty. She was such a natural beauty. "Yes, let's order some champagne and some lemonade for you." Booth leaned forward over the table as Brennan did the same, so that their faces were only inches apart. "I'd like to toast with you, to love, a new home, a new life and whatever else our future will bring us, okay?"

The eye contact between them reached a new sizzling high as neither of them said anything or looked away. Brennan was the one to break the silence. "Okay," she said, "to everything between us."

Booth could not help throwing all his morals and believes out of the window after hearing her say these words. He closed the last distance between them and kissed her right on the lips. The restaurant, the audience, the city and whoever could see them did not matter when all he could feel was her sweet mouth and her soft lips brushing against his deliciously. And oh yeah, there definitely was tongue contact this time.

* * *

><p><em>AllyH's Note: See, I haven't died! But my life has gotten busier. Until August, I'm employed full-time as an EMT and I now need more than four hours of sleep to keep up with the physical demands of the job. So for now, I'll try to post as much as I can, but I hope you understand that I won't be able to do that every day like before. Nevertheless, I'm going to continue this story, maybe until the very end of Brennan's pregnancy, because I have fallen in love with writing this and meeting all you lovely readers through this. So, I'll continue posting as much as I can. Every day will still be my goal, but on Twitter (AllysonHale) I'll keep you updated on any delays or other important things.<em>

_I AM officially booked to go to Greece! I will leave on the 29__th__ of July and return on the 21__st__ of August. My posting schedule will probably be a little messed up, since I won't have internet ever where I go, but I might just give you more than one chapter when I do get wifi somewhere. I do have a cellphone with internet, so I can keep in touch with all you lovelies there. _

_Tomorrow: The T-rated chapter of B&B getting intimate for the second time. It's Day 2, which I skipped earlier on this week, because of the Father's Day chapter. So how do they end up in bed this time? And what will they be like afterwards?_

_And after that one, there will angst, baby! _


	36. Hiatus now has a sequel!

Dear Hiatus readers,

I had announced in my author's note in the previous Hiatus chapter that this story was going to get a sequel to follow them through the days of their second trimester. I have the first chapter posted now! It's called 'Jump Start', and it starts_ exactly _where Hiatus left off. It's posted in the M-section, because I was really pushing the T-rating at some points with this one. Not to worry though, if things get too spicy, I'll post a seperate T-chapter so that those of you who don't want to read anything too sexy don't have to.

Jump Start follows them every day in their pregnancy as well, just like Hiatus. Brennan's arm is still broken, Hank still needs to be screened for dementia and Booth is...still Booth. It's written by the same crazy author (which is me) with the same lame author's notes at the end and the same grammar errors I'm still unaware of. So, if you want to continue reading this story, I'd suggest you look for Jump Start in the M-section or find it on my profile page.

I can't wait for your feedback/criticism on Jump Start. I hope to find you all back there.

Much love from a very grateful author,

AllysonH


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